Inner Strenght
by Suryallee
Summary: Rido searches for Yuuki and Kanname but all have left already. So he turns some people into Vampires and makes them descent into Level E faster then normal to hurt Yuuki...one of the victims is Sayori!I changed the Rating to T for now!
1. Chapter 1

It's all over now

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part one **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! I am native German. There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**A very bad day**

It's all over now.

Yuuki chan, Kaname Senpai and Aidou Senpai are gone since a while. Outside of my room, the campus is eerily quite. No one is outside or moving around in the dorm anymore. From the window of my room I can see the night-dorm, no lights are burning there.

The others, my classmates have already forgotten all what happened today. Or more likely, the vampires made them forget. I think it's for the best; it would only lead to chaos if the would still remember. The vampires spared me from it...I am sure it's Yuuki's doing and I am grateful for it.

That she is now a Vampire isn't important for me. Yuuki still is my friend and that's it! Should I tell the others that I had Kaname and Aidou in my room? Better not, I suppose! I really hope that she is fine and he better keeps her safe!

Wait! What's that noise? It comes from my window, there is suddenly a man standing in my window! How did he come there? I am sure I closed it! So why is he now standing in the wide-open window? Oh shit! He is most likely one of these vampires from earlier who did attack the school!

Huh? He is so fast…

Sayori Wakaba was woken from her slumber on the carpet of her sun-dorm room hours later from a loud knocking on the door. "I am coming! Stop knocking already!" her head felt like nothing she ever had experienced before, the headache was almost too much for the petite girl.

One of her classmates stood behind the door, hand already raised to knock again. It needed one look and her classmate agreed to tell the teacher that Sayori was ill and would stay in bed today. Sighing, Yori closed her room door again.

Meanwhile she let her body slide down against the door, she tried to remember what was going on. With a gasp she was fast on her feet again and on her way to the bathroom. The mirror showed her what she suspected; on her neck were two puncture marks, the area around them red and swollen.

/ That bastard bit me! / Yori's memories came back in a rush. That man, no vampire, he practically froze her with his eyes and then he had bitten her last night. She could not even do something, anything to stop him! He told her that he wanted Yuuki to suffer for leaving with the Kuran, as he called Kaname san, before he could get her.

Slowly sliding down the bathroom door until she sat on the titles of the bathroom floor , Yori finally cried her heart out.

After he had bitten her that stranger told her that she would faster change into a so-called E-class Vampire as normal. To hurt Yuuki with it! That bastard! Then she had lost her consistence and most likely fainted from the blood loss.

Silently wiping back and fort on the cold floor, Yori swore to never let that happen! And if she had to kill herself, she would not give up so easily as that vampire thought! She once overheard a conversation of the chairman and someone else by chance. They had talked about Zero kun. It was how she had found out about him, being a vampire. At first, Yori's smart brain told her that this could not be! Monsters did not exist…right? But with the following time, she found out much more as she bargained of. Yori wasn't called the class genius for nothing.

One night she had seen Yuuki change in frond of her and on her neck she had the same marks that Yori now wearied too. Many things suddenly had made a sense to Yori. It took her only a week to figure out why exactly she always went out of the way of the Night class students before…it was instinct!

That, and that Yori never exactly was made out of the Fan-Girl material anyways before.

With a darkly chuckle, the girl slowly stood up again and dressed into a jeans and a sweater with a high collar. Pulling on her boots, Yori took her room key's and stepped slowly out of her door to have a conversation with the chairman of the cross school.

On her way she remembered the stranger vampire telling her that she wasn't the only one he had bitten and changed like herself. She could only hope the chairman knew a way to help her and the others!

Sayori Wakaba silently begun to pray all on her way long to his office. If he knew no way, she knew, she was doomed!


	2. Chapter 2

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part two **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**The begin of a nightmare, or, welcome in the hotel of Hell!**

After Sayori reached the office, she found out that chairman Cross, had visitors. A four-man team of strange and dangerous looking men with weapons hidden under their cloths. They looked at her strangely when she stepped inside. On one side of the wall lay two of her schoolmates, bound in strange ropes, trashing around on the carped. They looked more like beasts as human beings. It's no use hiding it, Yori thought, and she calmly stepped in and closed the door behind her again.

Now, one hour later she stared bored at the bars of her prison cell and tried her hardest to ignore the screams of the others in other cells down the hallway. After she finished her storytelling, they told her calmly that she had two choices, the first was to kill her, what the chairman forbid them hastily.

The other was to come down here into the old wine cellar with them freely and to sit it out, so to speak. Means, if she was lucky, she would not react to the blood tablets and so most likely would not change into a level E vampire anytime soon. They told her that the hunters would leave her in peace then.

It was the chairman who told her what the vampire had done. First, the horror was almost suffocating Yori. After some minutes she calmed down again and listened to his explanation of what exactly a D class vampire and an E class supposed to be. The shock was deep!

The only other alternative to this cell was the option to kill her before she could endanger the others. Yori agreed with gritted teeth, she did not want to endanger her friends! To her surprise, the hunters caused her no harm; they were even kind of friendly to her.

In the cell to her left sat Zero and his brother. They talked a little then fell all silent after a while. He told her allot about Yuuki and everything else that had happened in the last half year. Now Yori had a lot to think over. Zero also told her that the bastard vampire had tried to speed up his own descending progress.

It was even worse as she thought before it to be!

Slowly, the young woman fell asleep. A week, the hunters told them they had to sit out here and then they would let them go. She would live through it! Yori silently made a vow to not let that vampire, Rido or what ever, have his way with her!

Day two, a glass of water and a tablet that colored it red as blood. Grimacing, Yori gulped it down and fought down her sick feeling in the stomach. The strange mixture even tasted like real blood! It wasn't that she did not stomach it, more that she did not like the thought to drink anything that resembled blood! The normally calm and collected teen cursed Rido loudly to hell and back. Then she gulped The rest down as fast as she could. The hunter who gave it to her smirked at that, it seemed he found her reaction to the tablet amusing.

Yori decided that she would never get used to the taste and furiously brushed her teeth after the ordeal. Meanwhile she did sleep, the cell on her other side had gotten two more inhabitants. One was Shinda Nakabe and the other Chiiro Tomoe. Both girls were in the same class as Yuuki, Zero and his brother Ichiru.

The smaller one, Shinda was shy and silent now she was constantly crying. Chiiro reacted much more calmly, but that wondered Saiyori not the slightest. Her friend was always the perfect lady in every kind of situation possible. Her parents where very rich people that raised her to act like this, to never to loose her face.

The screams slowly got on Yori's nerves! The most of the other inhabitants of the cellar rattled at the bars or screamed in agony most of the time. From the cell of Zero and co came a sudden call to her to come over for a second.

"They will kill the most of them soon," Zero calmly told her through the bars in a low voice to not alarm the other two girls in the cell across Yori's, " They have to. We here, Chiiro, Shinda, you, my brother and I are the only ones left who have not shown symptoms until now." With that, Zero leaved Yori to her own thoughts and stepped back to his weak looking brother. He had told her that the vampire had reanimated his brother, after both had tried to become one person. But he did not elaborate this further to her, it puzzled Yori.

She still tried to get that all into her head.

Another thing to blame Rido Kuran for, Yori mused and went back to her own makeshift bedding to study some more. The hunters had brought them their books and some other stuff. Yori thought that this was more the chairman's doing and was glad for the provided distraction. Beside her, in the next cell, Chiiro tried to do the same.

After a while they all fell silent and tried to distract themselves from all of the horrors around them with studying or else.

Day three, the next tablets and more frustration!

Yori slowly begun to really hate these tablets and told the hunter who brought it so. It was the same from yesterday. He laughed loudly all of his way out of her cell after her confession. Yori just wished she could strangle the guy!

Some of the others had begun to scream even more last night, while others of the infected begun to join their cacophony of screaming and growling. Shuddering Yori hoped that none of the others next to her cell would succumb to this all! Zeros brother begun to look better with each passing hour now, the hunters leaved the Kiriyuu brothers alone now.

All of them all seem to accept the blood tablets fine enough, even Zero who before had troubles with them. But now, since he and his brother had become near again, and he stopped with it to hate his own state, his body took them suddenly better as before. Much to everyone's surprise!

Zero was the most surprised of all of them. He told even so Yori and also he told her that he felt strange since the day Rido got him outside on the campus.

" You , the two girls, my brother and I, we smell strange! " Zero told her later in one of their low conversations through the bars. It had become a habit of them all to do so since the first day in this hellhole. Their cells ended at one point into one bar, they huddled together there if they wanted to talk. No one trusted the hunters anymore, not even Zero.

Chiriu, mostly staid quite and talked not much…Yori mused that Zero tried to compensate the missing Yuuki with talking with her instead. She knew how much he missed her, much like her too. When the night finally fell, the hunters suddenly came into her cell and told her that they would settle Chiiro and Shinda in her cell. Yori agreed without complain, ten minutes later the two changed the cell.

Half an hour later two of the hunters brought a young man into the now free cell.

Yori knew him well; even she did rarely speak with him in school live. He was a transfer student from Europe, here for one year and spoke their language fairly well. Kennard Alton, he was a member of their neighbor class. Mostly the natural redhead was a friendly and open individual. Now he was angry and looked really mad at the hunters who brought him here.

He lowly cursed in his own tongue under his breath. From what Yori could understand he promised the hunter the wrath of his very rich family onto their heads and it seemed to work, because one of them cringed visibly when he heard it too. The Alton Family clan was beyond rich. He could easily be the dead of the hunters if his father ever found out what they did to his only heir! The Alton clan had an own private army at hand.

Kennard wasn't spoiled, he rarely used his family to get what he wanted. From what Yori knew, he mostly used his charms to get himself out of trouble or tried to calmly talk over a problem. To see him now cuss and toss things around was kind of a shock to her. But given their situation it was understandable.

At least he wasn't screaming or rattling the bars.

He looked healthy too…she concluded that he was just angry, like them all. In the end he came over to her cell bar and sat down, ruffling his hands through his long red mane. "Can someone please wake me up?" Zero just shook his head, and retorted that he wasn't dreaming at all. Kennard cursed at that and finally calmed down.

"At least you all aren't acting like mad caps in the rest of the cells down here! The others drove me slowly insane with their screaming and all. Of course I have understood by now what is happening here but my brain still has troubles with believing it! " he looked at Zero as if he could tell him what was going on. That was the first time Yori noted the change really.

Kennard's eyes always stood out with his pale skin and his fiery red hair before, the golden brown was something to look at and captivated on the spot. But now he had almost strikingly golden eyes! They seemed to glow from the inside. Just like the night class students eyes. Like cats eyes.

Hastily Yori looked at the others. The effect was the same. All of their eyes now seemed to glow in the darkly lit cellar.

/ Like animals eyes../ Yori shuddered.

"What is it, Yori?" Zero had noted her odd behavior and wondered what she could think. He found it pleasantly surprising that she wasn't as dense like the most other girls in their class. She was always easy to talk to and never had bothered him or Yuuki in the past. He suspected that she had known before that he was a vampire, kind of. If so, Yori never gave it away or did act differently towards him.

He could even talk to her without to get annoying answers! That she was a smart girl, Zero already knew, but that she also could keep secrets and could keep herself together in this situation was a fine surprise.

Her thoughtfully brown gaze rested for seconds on his violet one then she spoke calmly two words that startled Zero.

"Our eyes."

So, Zero mused, you noted it too, Yori. He had seen the change in their eyes a while ago. But he gave her the credit to be observant. The red head was a surprise too. He had not known that he was turned too. That Kennard was still sane told Zero volumes about his willpower, the other was no pushover!

He knew through own experience that it was their willpower that held the beast at bay for the now. That and something that Zero couldn't place right now. He had the feeling that something went wrong with their little group to have not fallen level E until now! But what, Zero could not tell. He and his brother had talked about it last night. Both came to the conclusion that Rido most likely wasn't aware of this. He did not strike him to be the type that made errors!

Never less, if he was right, then something must have occurred to stop the wanted progress of Rido for them all to fall into level E…the question was; What!

" You noted it too. It's a change that occurs when you change into a Vampire." Zero told her calmly. " Along with a better hearing, a better sense of smell and faster reflexes. It turns you into a predator." He silently waited for the outburst he was sure that was to come now…only, it never came.

Kennard only blinked at him for a few seconds and then groaned. But he staid quite otherwise. Seemingly Kennard was dealing with the new information's in his own, personal way.

Yori just nodded her head a few times as if she had expected something like this. Then she closed her eyes to think it over, as she always did it in bad situations.

Shinda begun to cry, but he gave her the credit that she did it silently, and did not bother her. He felt the sudden urge to hug her but kept himself in check. Shinda needed to tough up if she wanted to live through this all. She was the youngest of them all. Soon she calmed down again and only hiccupped a few times, but she did not begun to scream or to throw a tantrum.

Well… Chiiro reacted as always, calm, collected and simply, well, Chiiro like. How she managed it to keep a cool façade was beyond Zero! He never had seen her loose her temper or her face. The only thing that told him what was really going on behind her gray eyes was the strange glowing inside of them. It made him shudder, Zero was just glad that he wasn't the one who she was angry about!

The young woman sometimes gave him creeps!

"It seems we all have already thought that this would happen." His brother's voice brought him out of his inner musings again. /He is right of course, Zero thought. " But I wonder why we were spared from the fate of the others. I should have fallen into level E the fastest of us all and I am still sane! It's not right! I have lived with a vampires for several years, Shizuka told me many things about this all…this shouldn't have happened!"

Zero gave a nod, he knew this too.

"Here is something fishy going on, that's for certain! " This came from Yori this time. "It is almost like something went wrong…but he did not seem to me the type that makes mistakes. And I don't think he knows that we all are still sane." Her voice sounded thoughtful and Zero believed that she tried to put the pieces together in her head.

"Something has gone wrong. There is no doubt about it. I wish I could take a stroll through the bibliotheca of the night class dorm! I think I could find there more about this." Zero thought of this as a good idea. If someone would find there something, it was most likely her.

"Our scents changed too. That isn't normal." His brother nodded at Zeros words. As a child of a hunter family and a longer companion of the vampire Shizuka sama he did know this too. "Normally the scent of a made vampire doesn't change like this, " Zero elaborated to the curios others of their little conversation group in a calm voice. " it changes, alright, but not like this. Vampire nobles can always tell if you're a noble, a pure blood or a made vampire with their noses. We all smell differently, it's our blood that gives us away…"

Here he stopped for a second to catch up on his own racing thoughts.

"Hell, even I can tell the levels apart! But what makes me wonder and think here is the little disturbing fact that none of us smell like we should smell!" he fell silent after his sudden outburst.

It was Chiiro who voiced the question out loudly this time. Her voice was almost silent and as usual, calm. "If we don't smell like we should, like what do we smell then? Zero san."

Zero took a few seconds to collect himself before he answered her.

" We smell like middle thing between Nobles and level D vampires and that is simply impossible! Because nobles, like pure bloods are Born as a vampire and not Made or Turned into a vampire!"

With that, all of them fell silent for the rest of the night.


	3. Chapter 3

Day four, pills and water again and the wish to bath was slowly becoming overwhelming for Yori

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part three **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**First clues of something big**

Day four, pills and water again and the wish to bath was slowly becoming overwhelming for Yori! It was a different hunter this morning who brought the daily rations of a few tablets. One of the older two. She did not like his look!

In the end he leaved them all alone again.

Two hours later, the chairman, a trio of new hunters and someone who looked suspiciously like a doctor came to their cells. The chairman gave a short prayer of thank you to the god above when he saw them all alive and relatively well while heavily glaring at him and the others outside their cells.

Even Kennard staid silent this time but the hunters showed signs of jumpy behavior in his proximity now. It was clear to all that they feared his family's reaction to all of this. Once more Yori did ponder how powerful Kennard's family really could be!

The Dr took blood samples and checked them over then he leaved them to themselves again, as the others did it too. Only the chairman staid behind and talked with Zero for some minutes through the bars in a hushed voice. When Yori asked him if she could have some new books for her studies he promised her to bring them in the next hours.

After that, all went routine again.

In the middle of the day, the chairman brought them the items they had asked after. Along with some good news. It seemed that the hunter no longer deemed them as too dangerous and maybe they could leave the cells in two days just as promised.

At least they let them to take a shower and even brought them new clothes to the bathrooms. Yori took full advantage of the shower! She stood under the water beams for almost an hour. Much to the amusement of the female huntress that she had to endure in the same room with her all the time.

They could only go alone to the shower rooms. But that was ok with Yori at this time. She simply ignored the woman and was done with it. But what made her confuse was the way her eyes reacted to the outside light!

She needed almost 5 minutes to adjust to the sunlight. It wasn't a pleasant experience at all. The huntress told her that some people reacted like her to the sunlight after turning. It did not reassure her in the slightest.

Back in her cell Yori noted that the mattress was changed and that she suddenly had a new pair of change clothes laying on top of it. Zero told her calmly that the chairman brought them and went to take a shower himself.

The rest of the day Yori began with a new project. She calmly made a list of all the incidents that she deemed out of the normal to happening to them all since their turning. Mostly asking Zero and his brother about to confirm her musings. Sometimes she even went this far to ask the hunter outside of their bars about his opinions. What wondered her was that he even answered her!

In the end of the day her list was a lot longer as at first expected.

Not only found Zero and she out that their smell was still changing and that their eyes shone with a bizarre light now, they also found out this way that allot more things had changed as it normally was the issue. Nor, he or Yori, could make something out of this but it made them both feel oddly anxious.

All of them had evolved some special abilities that normally only Noble would have. As for example, they all could somehow predict the moves from others around them suddenly…as if they did some kind of mind reading all the time. Zero told Yori that this wasn't normal at all! He had it not evolved after the vampires Shizuka had turned him.

His brother agreed to this and told Yori that the same vampire pure blood had told him once that made vampire usually lacked a lot of talents that a born vampire become with birth. He and Zero already found out that they could move small objects over small distances without to touch them.

When Yori and the others tried it out to, it worked for them also. But telekinesis was a strictly _**Born**_ vampire talent! It turned out more and more confusing with each new entry on Yori's list of oddities. The better smell and hearing was part of the normal as was it the better eyesight. How ever, a turned Vampire was never as good at it as they suddenly had become. When Chiiro took her shower, she came back later with a new entry for the list.

Other as commonly believed, a turning did not automatically erase all blemishes of the former human body of the once human. In her case she had some huge scars on the back and on her upper legs…burning scars. As a child Chiiro's home had been struck by lightning and burned fully down. She was rescued but before they reached her, burned badly on the back.

That was why she always wore long sleeved cloths and stockings under her school skirt. Even in the summer! Never less, the scars had fully vanished over night. It was another abnormality from the rule.

Even the hunter who watched them was confused about this all and went at the end of his shift straight to his leader to debate this with him. He promised Yori to tell her about it the next day.

Now feeling apprehensive Yori settled down to try to find some rest.

Night four was a disaster! And day Fife, even worse! Not that one of them stopped to accept the darn tablets, oh no, but the other occupants in their little cellar of hell now all acted like lunatics. From Kennard she already knew that there were 20 more young students down here with them in the cellar.

She shuddered at the thought that all of them fell into level E.

In the late morning the hunter suddenly came down and placed Kennard into the same cell as the Kiriyuu brothers.

After that they left again but now the young people in their cells began to feel uneasy. Something was on the move. Something big! Later that day the chairman came to them and told them to act extremely careful around the hunters from now on.

He gave a worried feeling away that made them all even tenser as before. He would not answer them why he told them that or what was going on but he did not need to do so. Zero was it later in the evening almost night who told them what he thought was about to happen soon.

"They are going to eliminate the others soon." He told them in a calm voice. Yori who had already guessed the same felt nauseous but managed it to stay quite. Kennard just put his face into his hands and mumbled curses in a low voice then he fell silent again. Chiiro closed her eyes for a full minute then she had composed herself again…it was Shinda who openly cried and huddled herself into a tight ball on the rough concrete floor of the cellar.

Somehow they all had known that it would come to this in the end. The only question that they had now was, when would the hunter act.

This night, no one of them slept.

The next day came with an early surprise wake up call from the chairman and two of the hunters. It wasn't even day already! Outside Yori could see that it was still in the middle of the night when they shortly crossed a window on their way to some other cells.

They had been told to fast get their things together and to hurry out of their cells. Nobody complained. What confused Yori more was the fact that they were lead away together and not alone, as always before. When they had to use the rest room or the bath.

Touga, an old friend of Zero awaited them in their new location and told them to be very, very quite from now on! Although they all were confused and wanted answers Yori and the others staid silent and followed his orders.

They found themselves back into a dimly lit room as fare away as possible from the rest of the others. Together! "They hide us" Whispered Zero only and shrugged his slim shoulders at that.

"But from who or what?" Yori couldn't help to whisper back meanwhile all of them settled down in a closed cycle at the fare end of the huge underground room. "I can only guess," Whispered Zero back. "I think they called the Nobles from the near town to show them what the cursed pureblood has done to the students here to get their ok's for the finally kill!" he told her in a low, angry voice.

"Most likely to anger them and to show them that they will not tolerate anything like this again. It's not so simple. All politics and that kind of stuff. What makes me wonder is why they hide us! The only answer I have is that they don't want to kill us too. If I know one thing, then it is this; Kuran Kaname will most likely hear about this all in the next 2 hours and I don't feel well to know that he will _**know**_ this! I am certain, he will investigate this and maybe even find out about us others!"

Zero fell silent for a while. Then he went on much calmer.

"You have to understand! If he ever finds this out, he will loose no time at all to force us into the night class and so, under his direct ruler ship. And to be honest, I don't think that would be a good thing! We still have no clue what's happening to us and I can't shake off the weird feeling that we all would end up thrown into something that will break us in more ways as one."

For the rest of the night and the beginning of the following day they all settled down into an uneasy rest.


	4. Chapter 4

Day six, more tablets that taste like shit, but slowly Yori got used to the taste

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part four **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**In the dark**

Day six, more tablets that taste like shit, but Yori slowly got used to the taste. She hated it, all right, but she knew she needed them from now on in daily basis to live. Again the hunter reminded them to stay quite and so they all did.

It was a day full of surprises for them all…

Zero was the first who had an adventure of the different kind.

When he tried to use his firelighter to light a candle, he found out that it was empty, cursing lowly under his breath, he throw the lighter across the room…nothing uncommon so far. What made the entire situation strange was the things that happened next.

As the lighter hit the wall opposite of him, two things happened at once; one, the lighter was suddenly engulfed into electric energy and next, it exploded without to make a noise!

Dumbfounded the elder Kiriyuu stood there for a full minute before he got it in that he just made his lighter go bum.

Still wondering about what just happened he sat down with a thud, right where he was and for the next half an hour Zero was trying to absorb this all.

The next who had a strange adventure was his brother who kneeled down next to the candle to light it with his lighter…however, before he could even use it, his fingertips brushed accidentally over the candle. Instantly the candle burned…without a lighter! His fingertips still frizzled with bluish energy when he fast withdrew them again.

Yori and the others watched this all with a morbid fascination.

She wasn't sure what was going on, but it was definitely worth to watch! Both brothers looked confused at each other, all the time mumbling that level D vampires had no special powers!

This confused her too.

If that was a fact, then why had they both them now? The next was Kennard. But he did not accidentally light a candle he suddenly stood fully on fire! The strangest thing was that the flames did not burn him, but he needed nearly half an hour to get them out again! He told them later that he had thought of the warm fireplace at home and silently wished they had such a place here to light. Because it was cold in the room and outside it was late autumn, he was freezing cold.

He got it out again because he thought of it going out again…to his own surprise; it worked!

From that point on, all eyed each other warily. What and who would be the next?

It as Chiiro, who was the next and what was her, just simply turning around to give Shinda a water bottle…however, she caused a miniature tornado to appear in the room out of the blue with that move. The same miniature tornado damaged the entire left half of the room before it run into the wall and vanished. After that, Chiiro stood still like a statue for several minutes before she plopped down very un-lady like.

"Oh my…!" was all she said in her deep voice.

Shinda tried after this to open the water bottle. However, it did not bulge a bit. So she got angry after a while. Suddenly the bottle did explode. But the glass did not hurt her or Chiiro who still sat next to her, it just went flying away from them…the water however hung weightlessly into the air in frond of Shinda who looked confused at it together with the others.

Out of the sudden it lost its weightless state and begun to fall down. Yori just reacted, she did not think. She just held out her hand to grip one of the glasses to rescue at least some of their last water for today. She never finished the move.

Because the water suddenly stopped it's descend to the floor again and instead wobbled over to the glasses right through the air, to settle neatly into them on the small table.

All looked confused from Shinda to Yori and back again, which one did now what?

"Well; " Yori told them all in a bewildered voice, " this was strange!" and then she promptly fainted!

When she came around again, Yori lay on the makeshift bedding of Zero and was huddled into her blanked. To judge from the now fully darkness around her she mused it must be night again. Around her she could hear the others breathing. The most seemed to sleep.

Across her sat the Kiriyuu brothers and talked in hushed tones with each other about the days events. Suddenly both looked at her and came over to her. "We better tell not the hunters of this, Yori. Both of us are sure that here is something more happening as a merely turning of humans into vampires!" she nodded at that. That much was certain!

Ichiru settled down next to her on the makeshift bedding. Until now he was fully healed again. "Do you still have your notes?" He looked curiously at her. Nodding Yori gave him the papers and the two brothers begun to re read them together again. Suddenly Yori got it in that it was fully dark inside their current room!

Only a small window on the left ceiling brought some light into the room. How could the two read in a nearly fully darkness? Zero who noted her confused look seemed to understand what she was trying to ask with her eyes. " It's normal, Yori. You can do it too, you just have not realized it by now that you can see in the dark." And true to his words, Yori realized that he was right!

She could see them perfectly fine, even in the darkness. If she was honest, the entire room was clearly to make out. The faint light from the moon outside was fully enough for her to see all as clearly as if it was day! Shaking her head, Yori tried not to think too much about it.

"What do you two think is happening here with us?" Her sight focused and unfocused on a small rip in the ceiling. She could even make out a small spider crawling along the stones and webbing her net over the rip! "We believe that we turn into Nobles of some sort. The point is, I know of no other human who was ever turned into a Noble before! Its just not happening, end of story!" Zero's voice did sound strangled and tense. /He is confused, Yori mused.

"There is no other conclusion possible! We discussed this before, Zero." His brother piped in. both brothers stared at each other and then away again. "I know that too, Ichiru! But its impossible and we both know that!" Zero nearly hissed that out at his brother, both could clearly not understand what was happening here with them all.

"Focus! Both of you, please. Its no use to snap at each other." Yori tried to calm them down before they could alarm a hunter outside with their quarrel. Just as Zero opened his mouth to say something, outside of the room the other students begun to scream even louder as before! Shoots sounded through the night air that woke the other two sleeping girls and Kennard up in an instant.

"It has begun." Told Ichiru them all in a unruffled voice.


	5. Chapter 5

The inner strength

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part Fife **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

Checking out of hotel hell

It was over much sooner as Yori would have believed it. In less then two hours, silence once more filled out the former wine cellar. She and Zero pressed their ears against the thick wooden door of their room. Ichiru stood right behind Zero and Kennard crouched on the floor next to Yori. The other two girls stood behind Kennard.

"What's going on?" Kennard whispered to them. But both of the listeners just shook the head and tried to make out what was happening behind the door. Yori could hear footsteps running up and down the cellar halls. Some of the footsteps sounded too low to belong to the heavily armed hunters. Some others did sound to her so loud that she first thought they run across their door! Soon Yori figured the louder ones out as that of the hunters and the more silent ones as that of vampires.

None of the two parties came anywhere near to their room.

There was no talking, no shouts or else from the hunters or vampires. It was almost an eerie silence only broken from the footsteps. Behind her she saw Ichiru prepare himself for a fight and Kennard soon followed his example. Just in case, seemed his eyes to say to her questioning gaze and Yori gave a nod at this.

Suddenly Zero turned fast around and made a motion that said, silence! At the same time he pulled a surprised Yori away from the door and motioned them all further inside of the room. Outside, soft footfalls begun to make themselves known to all of them. They stopped just outside of their room.

"What is with this cellar room, Touga san?" it was the voice of Ichijo Takuma. Before Yori could recover from her slight shock to find out that one of the night class students was outside of the door a new voice chirped in.

"Yes, hunter san, what's behind it? More of them?" Yori was sure that the new voice belonged to Aido Hanabusa, aka Idol Senpai as the other girls always called him. He sounded slightly irritated and weary. Coming from a slight distance away they all could clearly hear Touga's answer the two Nobles.

"No, no more in there, it's the room we used to sleep in the last days, why? Think there is one inside?"

"Asshole!" Yori could Hanabusa hear mumbling." "Shhh! Aido kun, be quite!" Ichijo did discipline the other vampire in an equally lowly voice. "He may hear you!" In a louder voice he addressed Zeros longtime teacher Yagari Touga again. "Very well then, Kaname san should be here in an hour too, until then I suggest we do as the councils have decided and get our plan into motion."

Touga gave no verbal answer but the soon footsteps leading away from their room, told them all that the vampires and the hunter had gone. The group of people slowly relaxed again. Everyone looked at the others. Something told all of them to get ready to leave this place fast. In no time at all the teenagers had packed their things together and sat down to wait.

And as they had predicted, not half an hour later Touga suddenly opened the door and waved them hurriedly out of the room. "Hurry out of here! And be quiet, for gods sake! If they get aware of it that you are here they will bring you straight to Kaname and the elders. Follow me and don't make a noise!"

With that Touga lead them silently through new corridors to a hidden door in the back of the former wine cellar. Behind it was another stony hallway that did lead even further down under the school buildings. When they passed the former cells of the unfortunate others, they saw only masses of ashes inside of them. The only reminders of the former turned students.

Shortly after they had closed the door again, Touga lead them in utter silence through the maze of tunnels. Swiftly and silently. No one dared to speak a word. To terrified from the entire thing to talk now anyway.

They run through the tunnels for nearly an hour then the group reached a new door. "Behind this door the cellar belongs to the former teacher building. Cross and I have brought your things here. It's no longer possible for you to stay in the Sun dorms. Here you will at least have your peace for a little while. But don't get me wrong, much sooner then later they will get out who the survivors of this are. Yes, they already know, sorry but one of the guards could not hold his damned mouth shut! And babbled it all out in front of the council elders. That bloody idiot!" He hit one of his fists into the nearby wall.

"Does they know our names?" Zeros calm voice did sound cold. Detached even. Kennard cursed and sat down against the wall. Yori felt a wave of dread crash down on her. She suddenly got an idea what Ichijo and Aido really must have searched after down in the cellar.

The hunter shook his head. "No. at least we could stop him before he could tell them that. It explains itself that the elder council and Kaname aren't really happy about it not to know who survived. That brats grandfather drove me up the walls with his constant nagging!" Yori looked clueless at the hunter in the dim shine of the flashlight. "Whose grandfather?"

Touga gave her a lopsided grin, "Who's? Ichijo's of course! That old bat is driving me nuts one day! He is one of the council of elders and a pain in the ass, trust me, girl. Chairman Cross had told him to go to hell…well, not exactly in this words but you get the point. He told them that he will take care of you now personally and that they have to stay away from you guys. But I bet my ass that Kaname will try to find a way around his security attempts to try to get his hands on you all as soon as possible." Touga stopped for a second, lost in his own inner musings.

He looked Yori straight in the eyes when he spoke again. "it will not take them long to figure out who the other missing persons are, if they have not done so already. I fear he did and that he will recognized by now that Zero, " here he nodded at said youth and his brother, " his brother and most importantly you, Yori, are under the victims of Rido's attack. It's widely known under his vampires that Yuuki favors you as a close friend, kind of sister even. He will do everything in his power to get you for her.

And that he wanted to get his hands on Zero was always a fact I and the boy knew much too good. Kaname never made a secrecy out of it that he always wanted the boy as his subordinate. Trust me, he will try to get you!"

With that, Touga turned around and brought them out of the tunnel right into a cleaned out cellar. Cross san awaited them there. In his hands he held some keys and a flashlight. He gave them all an apology smile when they stepped out of the tunnel. " I am so sorry that you had to go through this all, but they leaved me no other choice. I am truly sorry." Was all he told them. But it was enough. Even Kennard knew by now that it wasn't the headmasters responsibility that they ended up in the cells.

"What took you so long! Touga, they already asked after you!" His voice took a frantic note at the end. Said man just gave the chairman a grim grin as replay and then hurried without a further word out of the cellar. At the door he turned slightly again and stopped. "Those damned brats held me off for longer as expected. I bet that Aido brat knows that something is off. He was so goddamned noisy! I had first to make sure that the little monster of a Noble wasn't following me secretly and believe me, he tried!" with that, Touga vanished out of the door.

Cross shook his head in exasperation before he gave each of them a key and told them to follow him upstairs. On the way he explained them what the council planed to do now. They would detonate the old wine cellar in a few minutes and let it burn down to the ground fully. The parents of the unfortunate victims would be told that their children died in the inferno, lain from an unknown group of terrorists who did escape. It was all filed out already and the subordinates of the vampires at the police informed how they had to react.

Sayori could not believe how simple it would be to hide the death of nearly 20 students in this high class institute! She had gotten in the school via a stipendium. Duo her excellent grades and all. Sayori had worked hard to go to this private school. Since her parents where not rich, she had to work harder in order to be taken in by a good school.

It had helped her immensely that she was a so called genius. Even Yori thought not of herself as such. She just had a knack for math and to put things together. She also played chess on regularly basis and loved complicated puzzles. That was all. All other students at Cross school had rich parents.

"I took the liberty to pack your things up and to remove them from your former rooms to bring them here. You can even choose where to stay in. it's a huge building that is completely empty since it's no longer needed. But please take the rooms on the northern side, on the other is the wall that separates the Moon dorms from this building and the garden between." With that said and the promise to answer their questions all tomorrow, then he leaved them too in a hurry. He had to hasten back to the elders and Kaname to calm them all down.

For the first time in 7 days fully alone and under themselves again, the group of young people gazed slightly flabbergasted at each other before they plumped down in the various couches in the lobby of the old house. Kennard brought it to a point what all of them were thinking right now. With his head leaning backwards on the couch he sat in and the hands on either side of his head in the hair he loudly exclaimed;

"God! Where have I gotten myself into!? Shit! Shit! Shiiiit!"


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the night they all searched for suitable rooms in the old house

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part six **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**Finding out an old secret and a midnight encounter **

The rest of the night they all searched for suitable rooms in the old house.

Chiiro and Shinda took one together as so did Zero and Ichiru. Kennard settled down in the room across from Sayori. They kept together on the same floor of the building. The rooms itself were fantastical. With high ceilings and wonderfully decorated too. Yori saw nothing of that really, she just wanted to take her things to her new room and to take a shower. After that the girl wanted nothing other as to sleep!

She was just about to get a box of her to the room when it happened. A loud boom and then the building did actually shake a little. Within seconds smoke came out of the direction of the cellar. It settled not fare from Yori's position on the staircase down on the marble tiled floor. Astonished she watched the entire thing transfixed for some more seconds before she shrugged her slim shoulders and went on to bring her things upstairs. It couldn't be helped anyways and besides, she was tired!

For the first time alone again in days, Yori tried to get her self back together. Furiously she scrubbed herself raw under the shower in hope to get the insects and all the dirt out of her hair and off her skin again. Her current cloths found their way straight into the next available sink. With tons of soap added to the hot water!

After what seemed to be hours, she finally emerged out of the bathroom again. Now, that was ways better, she thought. Finally Yori felt like Yori again. Normal even. The only thing that told her all too well that she wasn't any longer normal, were the tablets onto her second sink in the bathroom. She had taken one just in case.

Yori did not want to wake up with the cravings that Zero had described her to warn her to forget to take the tablets. Sighting, the young woman sat down on a divan and rubbed the excess water out of her short dark blond hair.

It had no use in denying it, she was a vampire now. What kind exactly was unimportant for Yori. But a vampire none the less. She absolutely hated this! But it gave her a strange pleased feeling to have held her self-made vow to not let him get from her what he wanted.

The sudden hushed sound from her door opening brought her out of her inner musings. The voice of Cross san asked her if she was alright. Yori pondered this for some seconds. In the meanwhile the man that she knew as Yuuki's stepfather went to the big window and looked out of it. Yori wondered if he paid all of them this visit tonight and thought that he most probably did it.

"I am fine, Cross san. Not all right, not good, but ok for now. It's just that my entire life is suddenly on the move to somewhere I cannot understand right now, but it will be fine, I am sure." He gave her a slight pointing look over his shoulder then sighted. "I know exactly through how much stress you all went the last days. Sure, I cannot even fathom how you must feel inside now but I think I can understand you at least a little." He trailed off. Yori was sure that he meant with this statement something from his past, his eyes shone distant, as if he looked at something in his past.

"What Touga kun told you, Yori chan, is true. Kaname kun already searches for you. I saw him send his vampires out to look who is exactly missing and who's not. Since some of them went down in the cellars too, he knows that you and the others weren't there. He will soon figured it out where I did hide you all. Most likely he will then send someone here, maybe even come himself. Even I told him to let you all be, I know them too good, he will try to get around my wish in time." The thoughtfully voice trailed of again. Sayori knew instinctively that he was right. It wasn't a question that he would try that. Right now, she felt not ready to deal with Kaname or the other vampires to be honest, hell, she did not think she would be ever but knew that she had no choice in this. Sooner or later Yuuki would find her and then she had to be ready, if she felt like it or not!

It wasn't that she did not want to see her friend, quite the opposite was the fact. Yuuki wasn't the problem here! The others were it. Others like Aido and Ichijo or Kaname and co in general. Never Yuuki! Yori shuddered slightly at the thought to have to see them in time. Since Rido, she feared the vampires of the night class.

"I don't know how to react to them to be honest, sir, or what they will do with us. Can I ask you something Cross san?" The elder man nodded. "Is it possible for me to go into the library for the night class to look after some books there?" He gave her a curios look. "Why do you want do that, Yori? Do you wish to research something or so? Zero told me of your little hobby in the cellars. I must say I am intrigued too. Your change so far is abnormal…another thing I would like to hide for more time at least. I did some research of my own here too. In some of the books I have I found something about similarly cases. But all of them happened at least 1000 years in the past and are described as accidents or fairytales."

Sayori did a very unlike Yori thing, she gawked at the chairman for seconds. "1000 … 1000 years??" she asked him fully flabbergasted. He nodded with a lopsided smile of his own. "Yes. It's told that the last occurrence of a similar case has happened nearly 1000 years ago. It wasn't described much, thought it was a surprise for me to even find it in the books. I was surprised too, trust me in this.

I was thinking of it too to use their library for more research material but I have not so much time on my hands as you have it now. Sadly, since you cannot attend the classes anymore you will have more time now as you will like it. The only way for the others and you now to attend school is the night class I fear. The council was adamant in this. I am truly sorry, Yori. I know how hard you worked for it to get on this school." He fell silent.

Sayori who already had awaited something like this coming, just gave a short cut nod and begun to brush her tangled hair. "I know, Cross san, I know." His gaze never wavered from her small form on the divan. Finally he came over to the girl and sat down across from her in a chair. "You could only go in the daylight, Yori chan. When they are asleep. It will be harder for you now, since you were turned to stay awake in the day. Not that you cant, its just that your body will easier to handle after nightfall.

Vampires actually can live really well in the daylight, they just don't want to because it's for them like for us to stay awake the entire night, do you understand?" She nodded again. It made sense to Yori somewhat. Since she had staid awake most of the nights in the past anyways, she was used to the nightly life. In the past Yori had used the quiet and peace often to learn.

"It's alright with me, I am used to learn at night anyway. So, I have your approval then?" she asked again to be sure. "Yes, I will give you the second keys to it but please, be careful! If someone catches you in there, they will most likely try to bring you to Kaname straight away." With that he bid his good night and leaved Yori alone again to her own thoughts. A few minutes later she turned out the lights and settled into the lush bedding she owned now with a yawn.

The next day she awoke again in the late morning hours. On the table in the small room before her sleeping room lay a pair of keys for the library. She took them and looked at them for seconds, then Yori put them down again. She felt sluggish under the bright daylight and was tired still. She mused that this was the beginning of what Cross had warned her the night before, and shrugged it off. Outside the birds chirped.

When she finished with dressing and all it was noon. Deciding today was any day, Yori shortly went to Zero and Ichiru's room to tell the half awake Zero that she wanted to go to the library. Then Yori left the house through the door facing away from the garden and the Moon dorm. It took her only a few minutes to reach the school building. To sneak inside was a bigger problem as thought!

She had to avoid to meet someone in the halls at all costs. With luck on her side she finally reached the rooms that the night class always used. Closing the doors firmly behind her again, Yori entered minutes later the library itself. Her first impression was that it was bigger as the normal one she was used to. Some doors seemed to lead to the normal library. They were closed now.

Careful to avoid to make noises, Yori began her research in the shelves as farthest away from the rooms to the normal one as possible. Soon the girl had piles of books on a small desk. All were history books. She had decided to begin there with her search for clues. Soon the young woman was absorbed in her study.

It was already late afternoon when Yori finally put the books back to their old places. It had not staid by history, of course. Later the day Yori did search anew for biology books and found a few she could use. In the end she had sat on her writing table for half an hour and put the information's she gained out of the books together in her head and in the small handbook on her table.

To say the outcome was a surprise was an understatement!

At least she finally knew what maybe had happened to them all. It was actually rather simple, to understand. Even she could not even fathom how exactly it could work!

Noticing how late it already was getting, Yori hurried to tidy the table and left the building quietly before the school bells rung. She knew that she had to hurry, if she not wanted to meet the night class by accident. She still needed some information's to fully proof her theory but all in all, Yori was sure she had found out what was going on.

It was an accident.

Their entire existence and all was just a rarely occurring accident. To judge from the history books, their change was not over yet. It would take several more days for their new bodies to settle finally into what Yori thought they would become. It also wasn't such a wonder to her anymore that the last accident such as theirs had occurred nearly 1000 years ago.

It needed several things to work.

The sum was, Rido did simply not know what exactly he was doing. He changed a mass of people in a rush. Not thinking of possible consequences because it hadn't happened such in ages. Not knowing that he unknowingly from him, had all the needed talents to create them by accident this way.

The first thing that was a must in order to make it happen was that the person who turned the human was a pure blood. The next was that he/she had to be older as 500 years at least, or in other words was powerful enough for it to make it happen. Age seemed to play a key role in this. Why, Yori wasn't sure.

The second thing was that no personal blood given was in involved. If he had turned them not only with his bite and had used his blood to turn them, it would have ended badly for them all! Another ting was that only a pure blood could turn humans into vampires this way, Nobles could not!

The last thing that was needed could no one predict or force, it was sheer luck! Yes, luck. They, the others and she had only luck to have turned out this way! Stupid, random luck! Yori couldn't believe it. That's why this entire thing was such a rarity.

To create Nobles this way was really a rare chance for vampires. Since the bloodlines normally sprung from a pure blood ancestor in originally, the incest especially under the higher class families was a big problem. The pure blood lines even did only rarely marry outside their own caste! Intermarriages in the families itself were a normal occurrence under them. Only a pure blood couple could _**normally**_ create a pure blood child.

Even with their inhuman healing and all, the problems this actions brought with time were a big one. Shizuka was a prime proof of this with her madness. In the past, such accidentally made Nobles like Zero, Ichiru, Shinda, Chiiro, Kennard and Sayori herself, had brought fresh blood into the weary lines of old. The chances that their offspring with a Noble or a pure blood even would produce a new line, a pure blood child, was incredibly high!

In the past, Nobles like Yori was on the way to become, had been such rare chance even then, that they'd automatically been sought after each time the pure bloods made masses changes of humans in order to win a war or else. And even then, that only one suddenly came out, slim!

That Rido Kuran, by accident and unwillingly, created _**six**_ of them was a miracle in itself!

Not even Yori wanted to use math to predict the chances for such an outcome. It was simply too much. Why in the past 1000 years nothing like that had happened at all? That question was answered simple enough. Nearly 700 years ago was the last Great War between the pure bloods families itself in the vampire history. It whipped out nearly all of the reminding older purebloods at that time. Only the most of the younger ones survived it.

The survivors of that were whenever too young to create such rarities like Yori and the others or had just no luck in it.

That was why for nearly 1000 years no one like them six was created. That and that the most vampires nowadays were created through Nobles instead through pure bloods.

It could take several days for the progress to take place and needed months to finally settle fully. Until then they would need to be careful because they all could easily get killed because their health was still weak and they needed to take it slow from now on. Or their bodies would take damage. They could even relapse back to a normal level D vampire if they were not careful!

And that was something Yori would not let happen, meant it not for her to laps even faster into level E in the end. She groaned and rubbed her face. Either way, they had a real problem at their hands now!

The next hours where spend with explanations to the others about what she found out. To say that one of them was thrilled about the thought of what they would become in time was an outright lye! Zero asked her holes into her stomach but relented finally to it to believe her theory. It was the only logical choice here anyways. Nobody liked the idea the slightest but it was none the less what awaited them in the very end.

Of course, all knew that they would be sought after even more if Kaname found that out too. Zero never stopped his angry pacing around in Yori's room the entire time. He knew even better then the rest what would happen if the pure blood lord and his council found out their little secret! He could in his mind already see the grinning face of him, curse it!

Sayori who felt the strain on her body for staying up all day finally had enough. She complimented them simply out to get some rest. Giving Chiiro her note book to read, Yori finally sunk into her bed and was asleep as soon she touched the cushions. She awoke much later again.

The moon already hung high in the sky she didn't even need a light anymore to see just as good as in the daylight. First she could not place what had awoken her from her slumber but then she heard the soft noise of footfalls from outside her half open window. Yori was as soundless as possible in an instant. Who was that outside, Yori thought.

A sudden soft thumb on the nearby balcony made her jump a little in her bed. Suddenly a voice began a whispered conversation with another, the speaker was just under her window.

"Do you see someone inside?" The first voice belonged without doubt to Senri Shiki. One of the night class members. Yori tried her hardest not to make a move or sound that could give her away. Who ever the one was Shiki spoke to, he or she was currently spying into the room of Chiiro and Shinda! And both girls were in the room of Zero as far Yori remembered them tell her before she went to bed to sleep a little.

"No, but its clearly used from one or two persons, looks as if they are female, to judge from the things laying around." The speaker was Aido Hanabusa. Yori shuddered. From the entire night class, she feared the blonde the most. She knew from Yuuki that he was supposed to be a genius too and that he was mostly working for Kaname himself. Even a friend of him from what she knew.

He must have come up with the idea to check the old building, Yori was sure.

"You go and check the other side, I will continue here. They will have closed the doors and windows in order to keep us out. Be careful. Wait for a second!" suddenly she heard the vampire move fast to the side away from her window. After some minutes his voice was back. "I saw the Kiriyuu brothers and two girls sit together in the other room" His voice was only a whisper now, still, Yori heard him just fine. Meanwhile Aido had researched the other balcony, Yori had slit out of the covers and hidden herself behind her bed from his viewing. She was hard to spot now from the windows. "I will go and tell Kuran sama, try to find out what ever you can." Shiki's voice filled her ears again. He stood now directly under her bedroom window balcony.

"Wait a second. I think there was another male in the room too. Couldn't really see him from my point of view, sat in the corner away from me. All I could make out were his legs. That makes fife. Who is the last one? Or better, where?" Aido did sound puzzled. "Duno, maybe somewhere inside the building. Who do you think is it?"

Hanabusa took his time with the answer, when he finally gave it she knew why. He now was on the balcony that belonged to her rooms. Ducking down she hid from him under the bed. "I…I think its Yori san. She is missing since the entire thing. And she wasn't under the E levels either." "Ok then, I will tell Kuran san" With that she could hear Shiki walk away from the building.

"Damn it! If someone sees me now he must think of me as a complete idiot!" Aido Hanabusa was mumbling to himself. A shadow on her window told Yori that he tried to peek into her room now. "Aha! I knew it! There had to be another room." For some seconds he was just silently peering inside the room. "Sayori san, I know that you are inside there, hiding from me behind the bed." Nothing could have shocked Yori more this second as that words coming from his mouth! How the hell had he spotted her here anyways?! Darn it! Still, she did not move away from her hiding spot, maybe he just tried to fop her.

His next words destroyed her illusion fast. "You know, I can easily smell you there, Yori san. My nose is quite good, trust me. Please, would you come out there at least? I swear, I mean no harm! Despise what ever you must currently think of me and the others, we really want you all nothing bad. Please, I really mean it!"

She was almost instantly frozen to the spot in fear when Aido begun to speak and plead to her to come out. He seemed to actually sense that and hurriedly stepped back from the window. "I am sorry, I did not want to shock you this much! I am not this damned Rido, I don't attack you or else! We know already what he did, Sayori san. And Yuuki chan is really worried sick over you and that stupid Zero. That's why Kaname send us here against the rules of the chairman to look if you are here. Please believe me! I wanted only to make sure you're alright! Only that, I didn't mean to fright you that much that I can smell it out here."

"Go away! Leave me alone, Aido!" Yori surprised herself with her sudden outburst. She was shaking by now. Her new senses told her for the first time how dangerous exactly the normally so harmless looking vampire outside her window really was. It was a shock for her. She was scared out of her wits from the mere presence of him.

Aido who seemed to get that just in too was suddenly very cautious in dealing with the frightened Yori inside of the room. In his mind he cussed wildly at his own reckless handling of the situation! Kaname had warned him and the others that there could be more to one or two of them as them being only level D vampires! How that exactly worked or how the pure blood just knew was a miracle to Hanabusa but as it seemed, his lord had been right.

Her scent had puzzled him for some seconds! It wasn't the normal scent a freshly turned D level gave off. Nor did the others smell as they should! Instead they all smelled like himself, like Nobles! How could that be? Sure he knew the bedtime stories that all of the Noble children probably were told at one time or the other, about pure bloods and their abilities. But to see a fairytale practically come alive right in front of him was too much for Hanabusa's normally analytical mind! And that he had scared the shit out of Sayori inside with his mere presence now, who was the best friend of Yuuki chan wasn't making the entire situation easier to handle for him.

Kaname would bite his head off!

Not to mention that he really liked the young friend of Yuuki. Did so since the day he had seen her hug Yuuki without a second thought, knowing what she was and could do to her. Just accepting her as she was. Hanabusa wasn't used to it that humans did that so easily as she had done it. Sure he was used to the Kya Kya crying mob each day on his way to class but none of these girls would ever accept him or the others for what they were. Vampires, predators of the human kind, simply put, dangerous creatures who were not human at all!

Those girls would run away screaming if they would ever know the truth.

Sayori had just accepted Yuuki without a second glance and even worried herself about her friend. Hell, she even accepted him in this minutes, not even giving him a second glance the entire time long they stood in her and Yuuki's room. As if it was fully normal to have two vampires in your room everyday, from that one just had killed an her attacking vampire only seconds before.

And what did Yori? No screaming, no crying nothing of that. She just hugged Yuuki like mad and worried herself sick for maybe loosing her friend. Aido needed days to come to terms with his sudden, strange curiosity called Sayori Wakaba. She was an enigma for the young Noble. Maybe he mused it was because she never went to the gates to watch him or the others before…what puzzled the vampire even more. On the contrary, all the times he saw her before Yori had been near Yuuki. Always calm and friendly…to see her now frightened like this because of him sat not well with Hanabusa.

It was somehow wrong. He could easy understand why she reacted like this now, to meet Rido Kuran could do that to you! That pure blood was a true danger to all of them! Even more crazed as Shizuka sama! His hands slit panicky through his blond hair. Hanabusa had not want to scare her that badly. He was frantically trying to find a way out of this mess.

Truth to be told he had been anxious to see her well! Really worried out of some foreign point he could not really understand himself. When he heard what had happened he instantly checked on her. Only to find her room empty and Yori nowhere to be found. When he finally went into the old cellar he run along the bars to see if she was under the unlucky souls that had crossed the path of the mad pure blood. But she wasn't there, much to his and Ichijo's relive! Then he had caught that scent of some other persons hiding behind that cursed door. Instantly he knew that she had to be in there too.

But that cursed hunter interrupted them just when he wanted to break the door open, curse it! If he had not been there, this all would have long been over already and be done with.


	7. Chapter 7

"Aido

"Aido!!" Zeros sudden growl startled the rest of the group in his room. He did not speak the name, he practically snarled it in a beast like manner. Ok, Ichiru thought, he is mad! Whom of the two he now actually meant with his inner statement was not important here, most likely both. Zero vanished out of their round with a speed that rivaled gods. Right into the direction leading to… Yori's room?

"Shit!" With that exclamation both Ichiru and Kennard fast got on their feet and run after him. For the time being Zero became aware of it that Aido was somewhere in the building, said vampire Noble had decided to open Yori's window with the help of his ice powers and climbed inside. Honestly, he only wanted to somehow calm her down…it was needles to say that he managed to get the absolutely opposite effect with this little stunt out of Yori.

This just wasn't Hanabusa's day!

"Listen, Yori san, I really did not want to fright you. Agh! Today absolute everything goes wrong!" He stared at the now shaking girl that had build up a kind of shimmering barrier out of the blue and now hid behind it from him. He had never in his live before seen something like this…thing! What the hell did Yori create there? Not to mention that the Noble was astonished that she had even powers like this! How could that be? Only Noble, like himself could use these kind of powers anyway…what was going on here!?

For the first time in a long while, Aido found himself back speechless. And that wasn't an easy thing to manage! Hanabusa retreated to the farthest corner of the room away from her. Hands up and holding in front of him to placate her and he moved slowly. His brain worked faster as normal to come up with something to snap the fearful girl in front of him out of her panic attack. "Listen, don't you want to see Yuuki chan? " that got the desired effect! Suddenly her arms loosened up a little and moved slowly down from the position over her head.

Yori had thrown them above her head in a self protecting mode. "Yuuki…? " he gave a hidden sigh at her startled reaction. At least she had begun to loose up. "Yes, Yuuki chan. Don't you want to see her? She was really scared when she heard this all. I could go and fetch her for you. Its really no problem." Aido made sure not to move a bit. What did he think to come inside! Of course she had to snap! One time more the young Noble asked himself what that bastard had done to the petite girl to let her panic now like that.

"Get her? I…I…" Yori never found the time to say what she wanted, because suddenly her door flew out of the hinges and through the room! It collided with a loud crash with the opposite wall. Then Zero was suddenly in the room and attacking Aido. Within only seconds the silver haired teen had the vampire caught at his collar and threw them both out of Yori's open window with the force of his speedy entry!

"You bastard!" was the last a confused Yori heard before both vanished through her window.

Now completely clueless and confused, the shaken girl could only stare at the open window frame. What the hell did just happen? In her dazed state, her strange barrier suddenly vanished into the air. Outside she could hear sounds of a fight and the two boys cussing at each other. Suddenly Kennard and Ichiru run through her damaged door. They looked at her and then to the window. Within seconds both run out again. Probably to help Zero outside. Yori could only watch this all happening. In her mind the entire event with Rido run up and down all the time. She felt again the painful bite end felt the helpless feeling. Again she heard the sound of him sucking her neck…Yori had a mental breakdown.

Yuuki's voice startled Yori out of her mind nightmare in a second only. Said girl currently yelled at Zero and Hanabusa to stop their useless fighting. Her body shook violently for a moment, then suddenly Yori just moved. In a flash the young woman was out of the window and down on the floor. She did land right in the middle of Zero and Hanabusa, startling the two out of their fight in the progress. But before one of them could catch her she was already back on her feet and run to Yuuki faster as they could see.

Yuuki just caught her in her arms and held her there for several minutes of stunned silence. Only Yori's crying sounds filled the night air. "You better bring her back inside, Yuuki. She is in a shock." Kaname Kuran's calm voice filled Yori's ears. The sobbing girl felt herself guided by Yuuki and was brought back inside from her friend.

Hanabusa watched that with a grim face. Oh he was so death! Kaname's look spoke volumes about his later punishment. Gulping the Noble stared finally defiantly back at his master vampire. " I accidentally startled her. Just when I was near to calm her down, Zero broke the door in and throw us out of her window!" Here he glared at said Kiriyuu. "And what did you do here anyways? The chairman told you to leave us alone!" snapped the silver head back at the blonde. Both pairs of eyes, one blue and one violet shoot daggers at the other.

"Enough! Both of you, stop it right now!" the anger was almost touchable around the pure blood now. "Stop to quarrel and follow me. And Aido?" the blond vampire gulped again, yep, Kaname was mad! "We _**both**_ have a _**talk**_ later." Beside the Kuran, Kain visibly paled. As did a lot others. This wasn't good!

Zero stopped them before they could step inside the building. "Where do you think you're going?!" Kaname shook his head in annoyance. "Don't stop me right now, Zero kun. I will go inside and you, will let _**Me**_." His voice held a strange tinge that made Zeros head spin. Suddenly the urge to do everything he could to please the pure blood was almost overwhelming in the Hunter.

He snapped out of it again when Ruka suddenly touched him. confused he looked at the Noble. "He is already inside. its no use to oppose him, Zero san." With that she entered also. Mad, Zero was so mad that he literally saw red for several moments. Before someone could stop him, Zero dashed inside and shoved Kaname to the floor. "Never, never pull that stunt with me again!"

His anger was truly frightening to watch, even for the vampires. Seiren suddenly was in front of Kaname but before she could hit Zero, Kuran's voice stopped her. "Don't, he would kill you right now." Standing, the master vampire gave Zeros angry, shaking frame a cautious look. The boy should still be under his command, even as irritated as he was. No Noble could refuse a pure blood when they gave them direct orders and used their birthright powers to subdue them.

As it seemed, the rumors about these made Nobles appeared to be true. They could refuse the order of a pure blooded vampire. This was a surprise for Kaname, he never thought this was possible. Then again, no cause like this had happened in hundreds of years either! His voice was controlled when he addressed Zero and his now also angered friends again. "I did it not to anger you this much, Zero kun, I did it in order to be near Yuuki. Yes, I know that I broke the rules of the chairman but I did it in order to find out what was going on and not to harm you all! This has to be solved out, sooner or later doesn't matters. You know this as well as I and besides, did you really believe I would let you all slip through my fingers?" it was Kennard's growl that this time filled the room. The redhead startled Kain and Shiki next to him with it so much it made them jump. The air around the him suddenly felt much hotter as before. That in turn made Kain's eyes widen in sudden realization. "Shiki! Move away from us!" with that the Noble called on his own given powers to hold the other in check. All heads snapped around to the pair. Shiki jumped fast away from the two red heads who now stared at each other.

Kaname rubbed his face in a weary manner. This all would take a looong time to be solved out! "Please avoid doing damage to each other and Kain, be careful with him. He is more precious as you know. Your name is Alton Kennard, am I correct? He looked at the fuming young man next to Kain. The other vampires in the room looked confused at their leader, what was truly going on here?

"What? And if I am what is that to you?! First that bastard son of a bitch attacks us all and turns half of the school, then we had to live for days in that blasted cellar, all the time fearing for our lives and now you barge in here and play king!! Who do you think you are anyways?!" he practically all but shouted that in the direction of the pure blood. One of his hands pointed at Kaname with the fingers balled in a fist. Around the teenager the air suddenly begun to burn. Flames licked along his body and even Kain had suddenly a hard time to stay in his proximity any longer.

/This is bad!/ Hanabusa thought. /If he attacks Kuran sama we have to take him down, and we cannot lose a single one of them!/ a short look at Kaname told him that he had asset the situation right. Before he could act however, Zero and Ichiru collectively zapped the red head with an electric zap. "Stop it!" that came from Ichiru. Who now walked up to his new friend. "Yes, its no use to get that riled up now. He is too strong and besides that blasted gang of him would try to kill you instantly." Zero told Kennard and he also walked beside the Alton.

The fire died away again. But it was still visible in his golden eyes. Kaname was all but fooled to think this was over now. Kennard shoved his hands through his hair in his anger. Then he closed his eyes to calm himself down. Zero was right. But honestly, did that cursed vampire really think they all would be happy to serve him?

Gang?! What did that Zero think he was? Ruka thought angrily but she restrained herself from barking that out at him for now. It would only agitate the strange fire user even more and that would bring no good now. It was clear to her and all that Kuran san did want them to stay alive at all cost.

Balling her hands in fists and digging her nails in the palms in the process, Ruka tried to calm her own anger down. And why did they smell like Nobles?? Kaname who saw the confused looks from them all was just about to explain to them what exactly these new vampires would become when Rima's and Ichijo's loudly screamed; "They are what?!" filled the room. /To late/ thought Kaname and closed wearily his eyes. When his eyes meet Aido's a second later, he suddenly had a suspicion what had transpired earlier. A shrug of slim shoulders told him that he was all too right.

Life simply wasn't fair to them tonight. In the meanwhile the other vampires had crowded the two others on the couch who held an abandoned notebook in their frozen hands. Yori's note book, forgotten there from Ichiru who last had it in his hands and had tossed it there on his run out.

"Great! Now all of them will know!" Kennard's annoyed voice told the others. This moment choose Yuuki with Yori to reenter the front room together. Next to them walked Chiiro and Shinda inside too. Yori, seeing a bunch of Noble vampires manhandle her precious book rushed over and snapped it out of Kain's hands with an angry ; "Give that back, this is my book!" that got her curios looks from the said bunch and Kaname.

"You did research that all?" he tried to clarifies his suspicions. Her alert nod told him volumes. When she backed away from them again he let her and stopped the others from following the girl. Aido watched her sadly and amazed at the same time, she clutched her book to the chest and went back to Yuuki. So, he mused, she has investigated it out all alone. It told him volumes about her intellect and talent to put one and one together.

She was still scared of them…of him. He wished he could freeze Rido Kuran but even in his wildest dreams Hanabusa could not stand a chance against a pure blood. With balled fists he walked over to Kain and sat down in the seat next to his cousin on the couch. As always, Akatsuki seemed to know what ailed Hanabusa. He just shrugged his shoulders and sighted. It seemed his complicated cousin just made his live even more complicated as before.

Not that Kain did mind him, but really; Hanabusa and liking a girl? Seriously after a girl? That was simply something that had never happened before! With a lopsided grin he guardedly gazed at Yori across the room. She sat between Yuuki and the girl that liked the elder Kiriyuu brother on the couch near the fire place.

On the first look she wasn't that special to Kain. What had this, albeit cute looking, girl what others lacked? He never had seen Hanabusa react like this before. Normally he would already walk over to her and try to smart her to like him. but what did he do instead? He balled his fists and looked as if he was about to pummel someone.

And then he walked to him and sat without to make one of his smart remarks. Not even trying to charm her…he must be ill or worse then, Kain was sure. And then all those longing looks! Send at her when no one was looking…he shook his head and tried not to laugh. Yep, his cousin finally got himself into more as he could chew!

Priceless!

And was that a slight blush on his checks? Kain couldn't believe his eyes. When Yori looked shortly across the room to them and gave Hanabusa a questioning look, his cousin promptly blushed a little. He barely held his mirth in check. Mister smart brains had it bad!

A sudden punch in his shoulder brought him out of his musings. A very angry Aido was currently glaring holes into his back from above. Kain's shoulders begun to shake. Soon he would loose it! Another punch and a hissed shut up! From Hanabusa finally told him how serious his cousin was this time.

Turning slightly he gave his cousin a glare of his own then Kain turned back and watched Kaname take a seat facing the big fireplace in the room. The next hour long he told them what Yori already knew too well. At the end of his longer explanation Chiiro suddenly stood and went to the kitchen, to make some tee as she said. Soon Kain and Hanabusa watched Ichijo follow her along like a puppy on a invincible leash with Ichiru Kiriyuu following him.

This time he did chuckle. Aside of him he heard Hanabusa chuckle too. Both looked at each other with the same thoughts mirroring inside of their eyes. The next got himself in that trap! Hanabusa gave a snort and then stood to walk over to Yori, who still sat on the couch. Yuuki just went over to Kaname and settled down on a cushion at his side on the floor. Both begun to watch the fire dancing in the fireside.

Ruka had settled down in a chair near to Zero. That puzzled Kain for some minutes. As far he knew she could not stand the Kiriyuu. And here she was, sitting next to the brooding boy. Zero longed against the wall next to her chair and scowled at the pure blood. Seiren stood as always, near Kuran and Yuuki. Leaned against the wall.

The others in the room talked quietly among themselves. It was much to think about, even for Kain. A fairytale come alive, had Hanabusa called it. How fitting! That Zero would one day become something worthwhile was truly something to behold. It wasn't that Kain really hated the hunter, more that he disliked his attitude towards Kaname sama.

Suddenly the doors to the room burst open and Touga entered the room in a hurry. He walked up to Kaname Kuran and Yuuki with a mad expression in the face. Behind him followed an equally mad looking Ichijo elder him on his footsteps. Who tried to stop the incensed hunter from it to strangle Kaname san. But before Touga could even start, the pure blood already told him the entire story of his own.

They debated around for some minutes. Then Touga Yagari stalked over to the couch Shinda inhabited and flung himself into the cushions with a huff. The girl watched him with wide eyes but soon settled down next to him again. At once Kain stood and walked casually over to them. They maybe did not understand it fully but being these kind of vampires now, they were too important to the other vampires to let any harm befall them.

Shinda and the other fife belonged now to them, the vampires and the Kuran pure bloods and as such, they had the protection of the other Nobles too. And Touga, being a human vampire Hunter was now a possible treat to each one of them. Even Kain doubted it that the hunter would attack them. At least this hunter had some brains instead only brawns.

When Kain reached them he tried to act as casual as he could manage it. He had soon noted that Shinda was even tenser as Yori when it came to his kind and he did not want to startle the brown haired girl with his presence.

He soon had tangled the hunter in a conversation with him. Beside Touga the small young woman seemingly relaxed. She even tolerated him to sit down next to her in the seats. As long he did nothing to startle her she would let him stay near. Good! Mission accomplished, Kain thought wryly and smirked at the knowing look of Touga Yagari from across Shinda.

Soon two more of the night class joined him in this part of the room, both of them staid away from the girl, they just leaned against the wall next to Yagari san and let it stay that way. With a short nod into their direction Kain's focus slit back to the conversation at hand about the situation.

Again this night, the doors flew open with force. This startled Shinda so much that she jumped up at the noise and to fall back right into Kain's lap! The surprised vampire caught her just before she could hit the floor. Nerveless, Shinda hit her bare foot on the tiles in the progress and so the scent of her blood filled suddenly the room.

Angry, Kain pulled a tissue out of his pocket and bandaged the small injury as fast he could. Mumbling curses under his breath all the time. Normally he would just lick the blood of but he doubted that Shinda would take that lightly! The girl sat transfixed in his lap all the time and watched him doing so. Blushing madly all the time.

The voice of one of the newcomers boomed through the room.

"Already after her blood, vampire? And you, Yagari, getting friendly with the enemy?" It was one of the hunters who had taken them down into that blasted cellar and held them captive there who spoke that. The one who had scared Shinda all the time. She did the first thing she could think of and suddenly molded into the wide chest of Kain in a search of protection. Now she was really petrified, but not of the vampire!

Kain who saw her react like this immediately cradled the smaller frame protecting more into his arms and leaned away from the menacing presence of the hunter. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance when he heard him rudely spill his words out. The other two vampire Nobles instantly rounded up on the hunter who had scared Shinda. Touga's bored voice stopped them just barely before they could attack him.

"You're getting on my nerves, Holtland! What do you want, besides me cutting your head of, that is? Go and mark a tree for all I care. Just go away and stop to make them even more jumpy! Really! Have you learned nothing in your years as a wanebe hunter? She isn't your prisoner anymore, back off!"

The broad frame loomed for two more seconds above Touga before he turned with a huff and stalked over to the others who came in with him. Yori who had sat next to Hanabusa when they entered watched all out from a safe distance. A moment before the doors opened, the vampire jumped suddenly in front of her, shielding her from the hunters who barged in without a care.

The girl could only blink at it.

When Yuuki leaved her to go to her brother, Yori had sat on the couch and stared at her note book. Chiiro also left her to get some tee. She watched Ichijo Senpai follow her into the kitchen. Takuma kun had watched her friend the entire time. She chuckled, she was fond of the tall always friendly and charming blond. Yori also knew that Chiiro had a slight crush on Takuma kun since a while now.

And he on her. She had often seen him glimpse sideways at her when the dark-haired girl passed the way of the night class ways to the school or was anywhere in view. What she was doing not often. Chiiro, like Yori, did not like the fan girls and their behaviors much. Last year at the yearly feast the tall blonde had danced with Chiiro for the most of the time. Both had talked much.

Now he had a chance to talk to her without to have to worry all the time. A shadow fell suddenly over her and a look told her that it was Hanabusa Aido who caused it. She was still somewhat scared of him and the night class but forced herself to not jump up and run away. Yuuki wasn't scaring her. But he had been a vampire all of his live and Yori still could sense the power behind that harmless façade of Hanabusa.

He smelled of frost and cold winter mornings. She could smell it when he stood so near. /How fitting!/ Yori thought, Yuuki told her that he used ice as his special talent. And that he was good with it. In the moment, he just stood as near as he dared to come and gave her one of his charming smiles. Ok, with Idol Senpai, Yori could deal! His soft voice belied his cheery image quite fast. "I wanted to apologize for my scary performance before, Yori san. I really did not want to scare you. I am sorry." Somehow his voice managed it to sound sincere and subdued at the same time. She arched a brow. Now that was new, Aido Senpai did apologize? His blue eyes told her that he meant it. She nodded nervous and looked back down on her book in her lap.

"It wasn't exactly you, you know?" her own voice startled Yori even more. When had she thought of answering him? But it was true, it wasn't Hanabusa's mistake. It was Rido's. He seems to understand her perfectly fine. "I know, to be honest I was worried too. I couldn't find you after we got aware of what _**he**_ did. Yuuki was practically out of her mind in fear about you and Zero. We tried all we could to find you and the others but the hunters stopped us!"

His normally cheery voice held a hard edge in the end. His casual figure vanished and gave way for seconds to have a glimpse at the intimidating creature he really could be when angered enough. "Hanabusa kun?" at his sudden startled look at her she cleared her throat. "Uhm…you just froze the floor?" his head snapped down to look confused at the iced floor at his feet. "Huh?" was all he muttered surprised then he gave Yori a sheepish grin. Scratching his head he let the ice disappear again. A slight blush spread slowly over his cheekbones. Yori couldn't help it, she had to giggle at his funny actions. That caused Hanabusa to blush even more. Now fully mortified, the lean vampire huffed and then sat down next to her in the settee. He crossed his arms in annoyance.

"Oh man, how embarrassing!" he muttered more to himself as to Yori beside him. !"You can now stop to laugh at me, you know?" he shot her a glare. Somehow it did not work as it should. Because Sayori just giggled more! Soon his face gave him away and both sat laughing on the couch. Hanabusa could not believe it how dim-witted he just acted! Why did such things always only happen when she was around?

He fell silent. The Noble liked it to hear her laugh and giggle…even if it was about his antics. His sharp senses told Hanabusa that angry footsteps once more hurried into their direction, outside the room. And many at that! Without to think he was up and in front of Yori in one swift move. He angrily watched that nerd walk up to Kain and the other girl and then heard his little dialogue. For a second Aido was tempted to freeze that guy!

But Touga put him back in his place and so, rescued the situation before it could go out of hand. He felt it when Yori behind him tensed at this all. Before he could register it were Ichijo san had come from, Takuma's grandfather stood suddenly next to a startled Yuuki and so, near to him.

What did the elder do here?

The pose the elder vampire took was telling Hanabusa tales about the anger the older vampire must feeling right now. He pulled his eyes off of the elder and simply watched the other hunters settle down into the various couches and chairs across the room. Scowling at them, he moved not the slightest bit away from his position in front of Sayori.

"Well, Kuran san, we would like to know what is going on here. And why; " The fan of the president of the hunter council pointed at Kain and Hanabusa and some others around the room who had taken protecting stances in front or next to the newly turned vampires, "you're all suddenly so hell-bend to protect them so fiercely!" Next to her chairman Cross frowned openly at the elder woman. Abruptly he walked over to an empty chair on the side the vampires and Touga still used and sat down with a huff.

_**End of chapter seven, please let me know if you liked it or not. Since I yesterday uploaded all my six chapters in a row I was writing on this. I hope you liked it all**_

_**Sury**_

And a special thanks to my only reviewer! You made my day 


	8. Chapter 8

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part eight **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! I am native German. There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**Reviews are on the bottom, please, enjoy the story  
**

**Politics. double agents and other normal problems of a vampires nightly live.**

_/How dare this bitch…?!/_ Ruka's mouth opened and closed a few times before she had control over her anger again. She sat somewhat frozen on her chair when they barged in and the president of the hunter council suddenly dared to address _**Their**_ pure blood leader in this way!

To the left and right of her position, many of the Nobles suddenly tensed and some even growled at that.

That primate of a hunter, Hotland, gave the fuming Ruka a nasty smirk from behind his leaders chair. It effectively made her madder and just when Ruka was about to jump up and punch him into his face a hand settled on her shoulder and held her firmly in place. /Don't do it!/ seemed Zero's lilac eyes try to tell her. Surprisingly enough, instead to anger her more with it, his presence actually calmed her down.

Satisfied that she got the message, Zero casually moved his position from next to her to right into the line of sight of Hotland to Ruka. He did not stop walking until he stood right next the now confused looking hunter. But instead of doing something to the still challenging smirking hunter, Zero gave him a smirk of his own and bend down to take a jar of sugar from the table next to the now confused Hotland. Then he turned casually again and walked slowly back to his former spot next to the now a brow arching Ruka.

Ruka found her anger turn into self-satisfied amusement when she caught the gaze of the now fuming hunter across the room again. She gave him a fanged grin in response. Ruka could hear the vampires in the room chuckle at the displayed scene. Even more so when Chiiro came unexpectedly back out of the kitchen in this moment. Holding a tray laden with cups and a tee pot, she walked right over to Zero to ask him calmly; "Tee, Zero kun?" Zero just nodded and took two empty cups from her tray to give one to Ruka, together with the sugar jar. The grinning vampire took it and put some into her cup. All the time smiling nastily at Hotland who was now shaking from anger.

The hunter had tried it again to agitate one of the vampires with his rude demeanor. Zero's fine move had destroyed his plans. Just like his former teacher before had stopped Hotland from angering that orange blond haired vampire! He now cursed at both of them under his breath.

Behind Chiiro, Takuma left the kitchen together with Ichiru. Both had larger trays with tee pots and more tableware onto them in their hands. He spotted his grandfather at once. Barely stopping himself from it to make a double take in the process. What did his grandfather doing here!? Getting a warning look from Kaname from out of the corner of the pure bloods eyes, Takuma fast pulled himself out of his surprise and simply smiled pleasantly at his elder. Fast moving the tray over to a table to get some cups for his elder and Kaname sama and Yuuki sama. Outwardly only a few beings in this room could tell that he was slightly shaking from anger and fear.

All of them were vampires…with only one exception, Yagari Touga. The hunter helped himself to some cup and tee from Ichiru's tray. Next to him Kain sat stunned in his seat. Had that Kiriyuu just rescued Ruka? Or did he imagine things here? The nasty glint inside of Zero's eyes told Kain volumes about the anger and glee of said new Noble.

Their eyes shortly meet over the distance to mutually grin at each other for a second or two. Yup, Kain thought, he did! Since Zero stood next the kitchen door, he must have heart them inside preparing to come out, Kain mused. He grinned along with Ruka at the now cussing hunter. Kain begun to like Zero more and more as the night went on.

Aido also seemed to could not hold in his amusement at the situation. His cousin smiled one of his fake wide smiles at the hunters who now fumed across the room. All innocence and that. Kain could barely contain his mirth when it did cause the desired effect. Now all of them grimaced openly at the vampires. Beside Hanabusa, Yori hid her chuckle with her hand. Kain watched her give Hanabusa a slight punch on the back to stop him from beaming more at the hunters. Now Hanabusa looked innocently at her. Yori could only shake her head at that. Akatsuki watched it all meanwhile he still held Shinda near to him.

It never crossed his mind that he still had Shinda in his lap, or that said girl clung to him right now. When Ichiru came over to give them tee too he just took the two cups and gave one to her. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the president frown at them.

Suddenly he remembered that he still held her. Kain shrugged at that and sipped his tee. The hunter leader could drop dead for all he cared, as long that woman was here in the room and Shinda let him hold her, Kain would keep her there. The girl was scared out of her wits still. It was soothing to him somehow that Shinda seemed to have accept the vampire holding her like this. And that she stopped to fear him and the two others who currently blocked the hunters from their view of Shinda and him. The girl was actually rather nice, only deadly shy! Shinda had told him why she was so afraid of this particular hunter, this one had dragged her down into the cellar without mercy a week ago. Only Chiiro's presence had stopped him from manhandling her even more! He had always tried to fright her more and even went so far to treat her with his weapons once. Kain made a note to himself to talk with Kuran san later about this gorilla!

Rima had taken position next to the strange red head. Together with Shiki. The two mostly worked together when outside of the academy. Now was no difference to that. Surprisingly the fiery haired young man did tolerate them next to him, he even stood and gave Rima his place! If he wasn't angered Kennard was quite courteous she noted. And sat down.

Shiki leaned now casually against the wall next to Kennard. Who leaned against it with his arms crossed before his wide chest. That guy was at least as tall as Akatsuki, Rima pondered. With the long red mob of hair and the enchanting golden brown eyes he would make a fine model the vampire noted. Right now, his gaze seemed to scan over the hunters in frond of them all with alert and cunning eyes. He wasn't easily one to be intimidated. Shiki and Rima exchanged a short glance and then settled to watch the hunters also. As calm as Kennard was it now, he was much better to take as before.

And besides that, with his fire powers he could easily defend himself if necessary.

His sudden whispered; "That asshole again! He scared Shinda all the time with his nasty comments in the cellar…that hunter pisses me off!" told them fast that the red head just outwardly seemed to have calmed down! Only the two had heard him mumble and soon Shiki and Rima realized that he had done that on purpose.

Kennard let them know why Shinda reacted as she did. Now both vampires glared along with him at the unsuspecting Hotland. They only stopped to glare from time to time to look at each other and when Chiiro came over to give them tee too.

Kennard watched the two suddenly come over to his spot near the window shortly before those elephants stampeded inside the room. He had heard and spotted them coming before they even reached the door handle. He was still mad at that dark haired vampire leader but he, born into an aristocratic family himself, Kennard knew it when he spotted a leader of a group. His instincts, long honed from his family and society told him volumes about the high status this pure blood held in his vampire society from the reactions of the other Nobles to his presence alone.

And the haughty Kuran guy knew perfectly well witch buttons at the time he had to press to piss that woman off! The way he seemed to get away with it told Kennard that he had addressed his demeanor right when he was screaming angrily at him; Kuran Kaname was a king. Sort of. To the vampires at least.

He took another sip of the cooling tee, these two here with him reminded the youth on models with their stylish clothes and their looks. Kennard could have sworn that he saw the face of the female vampire before in a magazine of one of his sisters. If that was correct, these two here were models! He looked again at Rima, yep, she was that model from out of that high class magazine his younger sister always looked in.

His brow arched at that revelation, she must earn a lot money with her side job.

Not that this wondered him, she was a petite beauty in Kennard's eyes, but sadly, not his type. More his new companions as it seemed, Shiki always glanced at Rima with _**that**_ particular caring look all couples had in their eyes. He smirked at his discovery and went back to watch the others in the room. Zero currently, accidentally blocked again the view-line of that rotten hunter to Ruka or how ever she was called.

This time Kennard chuckled in his mirth. Beside him Shiki tensed and gave him a quizzical look. His eyes shortly made a move into the others direction and after a short glance at the two, Shiki gave him a grin. Rima also chuckled into her cup. All three of them fell silent again when the slightly agitated voice of the huntress filled the room again.

"Well, Kuran san?" She gave him a flustered look. Said pure blood currently seemed to have forgotten everything besides his tee and his hand in Yuuki's hair. This incensed the president even more. Zero gave a snort at that, of course Kuran hadn't forgotten her. The blasted vampire just did not want to answer her! He watched with a slight pang of shame these poor excuses for hunters act like spoiled children in front of him. He could only shake his silver head at that in shame, what did this woman thought she was? Addressing the pure blood Kuran like she did? He was, _**The Kuran**_, for gods sake! The president held no power over a Kuran pure blood!

Across the room he could see his teacher shake his head too. Yagari san was as mortified as Zero currently felt. He knew him good enough to judge that expression right. As much he wanted to strangle Kaname all the time, he had to give him inwardly some credit for his unruffled demeanor. At least he behaved like an adult and not like that hunters…wait a second, since when did he think of his fellow hunters like that?!

Ruka saw Zeros troubled looks at the president and the hunters and watched his inner struggles from next to him on her chair. When he suddenly scowled even harder she did in some way know what was running through his head. Ruka could only suspect what was currently happening here with Zero or the others. She had seen it happen before, with freshly turned D level servants.

Normally, after a while, the human part in them slowly begun to fade with time. If they lived constantly beside their masters they lost the most of the humans foolish thinking and begun to change to accommodate their new roles in their world.

It always puzzled her before that Zero had never showed such a sign before. Even now, he only changed a little but not as much as Ruka was used to. At least he now choose more often the right side instead of only the hunters view of live. It calmed her immensely down from her anger at him.

If she was honest, she liked the hot headed Kiriyuu a lot more as she would ever give away! She could already sense some of the other female nobles check him and his equally attractive brother out. That riled her massively! Even some of the males gave them appraising looks…not that this was a problem for Ruka. In their world it was a normality and not a cursed and hidden thing to like the same gender. Sometimes brothers and sisters even married, so what was then such a thing to that?

You just had to look at the two pure bloods to have a formidable example for this.

His brother had no such problems as Zero. He was easy to persuade to come to them freely, Ruka knew but he wasn't Zero and it was Zero Ruka wanted to accept his new live and to move on to step two! She watched Kain cradle the Shinda girl even more close to him when he leaned back onto his couch.

Akatsuki was doing a good job in protecting and charming the girl into his presence. Normally he was a little too observant and silent for Ruka's tastes. Shinda blushed a little and tried to squirm her way out of his arms to the side away from the hunters on the couch. Ruka smirked at the sudden longing look in the handsome face of Aido's cousin with wry humor.

Normally his stoics façade scared everyone away from him who knew him better. _**Wild**_ Senpai wasn't that wild at all when he was not trying to scare off others. Actually he was a really nice guy to have around but he mostly hid that behind his, I give a damn about you, appearance in case he could get hurt.

His often lazy manner was fooling the most into the believe that he was unruffled from all and everything around him. but in true Akatsuki just was like every one else of their little group of the inner cycle around Kaname san; lonely and easy to hurt. Sure, each one of them was one of the strongest Nobles around but they also were lonely. Well, if you canceled the happy couple, Shiki and Rima out, of course. Since Rido's attack that two were inseparable!

That these two did not go together to the restroom was it all… she shrugged.

Akatsuki could have every female in the dorm and beyond if he wished it. The point was that all of them were only after his status and position as Kaname's bodyguard and friend and not him. She watched the normally so cool acting red head suddenly whisper to Shinda. The girl stopped squirming and finally settled down into his protecting embrace again. he shifted her a little.

Now only her long legs laid onto his lap and her bottom rested next to him on the couch. Else, she staid where she was and stilled down. His arm was still around her smaller frame and held her almost possessively near to him, much to the amusement of the hunter next to them and Ruka.

The two now talked in hushed tunes and Ruka caught Kain even smile a little.

"I don't see the point in it to have to answer you, president sama. The last time I checked it I was sure that I have not to explain myself to you." Kaname's calm and almost bored voice suddenly hushed the room into a full silence. Only the irate gasp of the woman disturbed the stillness. He didn't even look at the now irate hunters across the room, he just lovingly stroked the hair on Yuuki's head all the time and stared into the fire.

Outwardly he gave the impression to be peaceful but the aura around him told a different story. Kaname Kuran was annoyed.

"So you do not want to tell me why your own uncle turned and killed nearly 20 young students here?" She huffed and gave a short shrill laugh, "Would you then , please, at least tell me and the hunter council what has happened to these children?" She pointed the ugly fan at Zero and the others. "You can't tell me that humans turn into _**Nobles**_ all the day! Or isn't it that into what they turned? If so, then what the hell are they?!" Yori clutched her notebook harder to her chest. Hanabusa sensed this and blocked her even more from view. Some of the hunters did remember her notebook and looked into Yori's direction. Surely they wanted to get the book from the girl. They fast stopped with it when they saw the grim glare Aido gave them. At his feet the floor suddenly iced over a little. With widening eyes even the toughest stopped then. The ice vanished again.

The superior look of the president vanished after some minutes of strained silence from the still quiet master vampire.

"Strange…;" Finally Kaname looked at the woman with his chilly gaze, "the last thing I was told of is that he did turn them without my permission or that of the council of Elders." His red brown gaze looked debatably at the Elder next to Yuuki who meet his gaze equally unruffled and shook his head at his lords unspoken question. Then Ichijo shrugged his shoulders as if he wanted to say; I told you so before.

Kaname's gaze went back to the council representative across the room from him. "See? I told you, we had no idea that he planned something like this. But you were told that before, no? And if I remember it correctly, your hunters held them captive the entire last week without to tell me where or how and did kill them in the end!" At the end of his little dialogue Kaname's voice reached an angry and faintly louder level.

His eyes now spit cold fire at the hunters. "Even better," Kaname's icy voice addressed them again, "When we asked after specific persons we were told a lie from you! That your hunters had them not in their custody and your hunters told us that the others were taken a good care of!" Even Zero did give a slight shudder away at the sound of the pure bloods icy voice. Yup, Kaname was short of killing someone here tonight. Yuuki looked alarmed at her brother, Zero could tell that she was worried of his sudden angry conduct. He was it too. His gaze went over to the now gulping president. This woman had told them lies? Was she mad?!

To anger the council of Elders just to make a statement was one thing, but to risk openly the anger of the entire vampire nation in openly opposing the Kuran pure blood was entirely a different matter! How could they really believe that Kaname would let it slide?

The hunter council was nuts! Or was it just her?

If this kept on, they would risk a new war between them all in no time at all! Kaname would never let them get away with this and besides that, he would have the upper hand in this at every time. This was simply pure madness!

"You did not only told me that Zero, his brother and most importantly, Sayori san wasn't under the victims, no you also lied about it how you treated them. That you keyed them all away into a dark cellar with no light and freezing, only giving them tablets and water and nearly nothing else to eat and leaved them to themselves. I most likely could have helped the others if you would have let me!" This time he showed clear signs of his anger and for the first time ever, Zero was believing him. Kaname run one hand through his dark brown mane and visibly tried to calm down again. It had no use if his subordinates now attacked the hunters in their openly showed anger.

True to be told, he could only have helped a few of the poor teenagers, to judge from what Aido and Ichijo had told him later. He was shocked to find out that the hunters had imprisoned them all into that old dark and cold wine cellar. It had only further helped them along to ebb into level E! But the point was, he could have rescued at least one or two of them. It had made him as mad as Yuuki to know that they had to be under the victims and to could not do anything at all for them.

His only hope had been that maybe Zero would survive the ordeal with his unusual among of willpower. He found out through accident later that at least 5 or 6 of them had made it somehow. The headmaster had been out of his mind in his fear too. Cross san had done all he could from keeping the hunter council from killing all of the poor teenagers at once! It was a miracle how he managed it to Kaname!

It was no wonder that they all where reacting so violently and frightened now.

To top it all, this incredibly rare change had occurred. It was Touga Yagari to thank for that the headmaster had won and they all had not been killed when they suddenly showed signs of turning into something unexpected. The prized hunter had literally taken half of the council hostage to ensure the safely of Zero and his friends. Together with some others of the more level headed fraction of the hunters.

From the looks of Zero and Ichiru to judge that two realized this all right now too. Zero burned holes into the hunters from his position and when he suddenly begun to move forward to do something stupid, Ruka caught him just in time and held him back. Yuuki stood and went over to help her to restrain her adopted brother.

For the first time ever he could not even blame Zero for his rage.

As suddenly as Zero begun to struggle he ceased with it again and just hugged Yuuki fiercely for the next minutes. His brother stood calmly next to the red head and tried soothe the openly furious man down from him emanating killing intent. Ichiru was much calmer when it came to these things as his brother, Kaname mused. Kennard's golden eyes where a fiery yellow now and he truly looked frightening to an onlooker in his fury. Beside him Shiki also whispered to him and Rima blocked them all from the gazes of the hunters who slowly became nervous in the room.

Shinda held onto Kain as if he was a live line and wept. One of the Shinda protecting vampires had taken her cup from her shaking fingers when the realization sunk in. Akatsuki held her and spoke in hushed tunes to her to calm her down. As it looked, all of them slowly got it that the hunters had tried to kill them and never had intended to hold their word at all.

Cross sat on his chair and held his hands before his face. He was next to Touga the only human in the room that Kaname truly did not want to blame or to get hurt now. Chiiro puzzled Kaname, she just sat down out of the blue on a nearby chair and seemed to space out for some seconds. Then she fast composed herself again. He arched a brow, this girl behaved a lot like Kaname himself would. He took it that she was raised to never loose her face as he had it been and let it slide.

Takuma Ichijo was fast at her side and blocked her from view. The vice president of the night class talked with the black haired girl for some seconds then Chiiro stood again and went over to Kain to help him to calm the now sobbing Shinda down.

She gave no sign of any emotion away when she passed the hunters on her way. Only her stiff posture told the vampire how much angry she truly must be. His last check for danger and damage was Yori. The girl still sat on the spot he last saw her sitting with Hanabusa before the hunters came in. In her hands she clutched the notebook, knuckles white from the sheer force she put into it.

She didn't cry or else. The girl herself gave outwardly a composed posture away. Only the notebook belied her calm. Her brown eyes blazed with an inner fire. When Hanabusa suddenly spoke to her, she shook her tresses and looked into Kaname's direction. The pure blood could proudly tell that she would not again get a breakdown as before. She really was composed, though she looked a little white now. He suspected that Yori had known or at least suspected this all before.

Some other members of the night classes went over to the now subdued talking couple and asked Aido if he needed help but the vampire denied and just sat down next to Yori again. He could feel that something was nagging at her. The others took his place in front of them. Yori did, in the meanwhile, suddenly realize what she had done without to know it! It was partially her foul that they all got nearly killed! In the cell, she had asked the hunter outside about the changes she had noted and that hunter must have told that to the others. The young woman suddenly realized how much trust she still had laid into the hunters to hold their word...how stupid she had truly been! Never again, Yori vowed to herself, she would ever trust so easily again someone she did not know better!

Kaname went his once more cool gaze back to the hunters.

Behind him he could sense that Zero had calmed down too and now stood only a few feet away from him and the elder Ichijo. He gave outwardly no sign away how much this surprised him but since he could sense Yuuki behind Zero he knew exactly what that meant; Zero took a protecting stance in front of Yuuki and so took position of where his loyalties lay openly.

"You told me too that you told them" Across the room Touga suddenly opened his only eye and glanced pointedly at the president. "I guess it would be wise to leave here now, don't you agree?" He stood up fluidly and just walked out of the room with a short nod in Kaname's direction. Patting Shinda shortly on her head, when he passed her by Touga vanished finally through the doors. Kain gave him an annoyed look but said nothing. Shinda calmed down instantly and even whispered a hushed good bye. This disturbed Kain somehow. But when she gave him a shy smile he forgot the hunter fast again.

After some seconds the angry president also stood and stormed out of the room without to look back. The others followed her.

Next to Kuran Kaname, the elder suddenly uncrossed his arms. "My cover is blown, that much is certain! She will run straight to him and tell him the news. Rido will instantly put one and one together as so has Yagari san." He turned around to the pure blood and kneeled down. His gaze down he addressed him again.

"My lord, my deepest apologies to have failed you!" This shocked the entire rest of the room in silence. A sudden _**thud!**_ and Takuma sat on the floor when the meaning of these words hit him hard. Shiki gave a strange imitation of a gulping fish in Kennard's eyes away before he also sat down on the chair behind him. Chiiro helped Takuma up again and over to a couch.

"OK, what's going on here?" this came from Kennard who now looked pointedly at Kaname. Said vampire just looked into the fire when he addressed the elder next to him. " Stand, you haven't failed me, the circumstances were just against you and me this time." He heaved a sigh for x-t time this night. Then turned to Kennard and looked at him when he spoke.

"In short, I have known for a while what my uncle was planning to do to Yuuki if would ever recover from the injuries that I gave him a while back. The night he killed my parents. I trust it that Zero have told you that Rido tried to get her in his hands when he possessed his own sons body and what happened as he did that?"

A collective gasp was to hear after his words. For Hanabusa, a many things suddenly fell in place, like pieces of a puzzle. He closed his eyes as he over thought the entire situation. The sum he made, made him not happy! He was just glad he was sitting already!

Kennard nodded, "Yes, a little of that. I only can fathom that you used a shadow figure to infiltrate his ranks to know what he was up to and when, am I right?" the pure blood nodded. "My child hood guardian knew from the beginning what Rido planned and infiltrated his inner circle right after my parents death. He told me some years later what he did and we both have watched Rido closely since but we could not stop him from doing certain things I do regret in order to not blow it up. Shiki was the one who had to take the blame for this. His own father possessed him to use his body to spy.

It made me not happy to see this happen, more so since Ichijo had also to use his own grandson to ensure that Rido believed in his loyalty. Both I do consider as two of my most dear friends. But I could do nothing, I had to ensure that I found out what he is exactly planning and I had to gather facts to ensure that the elder council would take my side in this upcoming battle between me and my uncle and do see finally how truly mad he is. Also it was the only way to find out who the traitors on my parents have been and who helped Rido all the time."

The room was so silent, you could even hear the heartbeats of your next neighbor and count them! Kennard rubbed his temples. "I hate political affairs, ever have. I have to put up with that shit enough in England." Kaname gave an amused dry snort at that. "I believe, its not easy for anyone to live with the constant need to watch every move you make." Kennard said in a considerate voice.

The vampire nodded evenly at that. "Yes, it's the bane of the existence of every person who is in such a position as you or in my case, mine." Kaname fell silent too. Chiiro's voice filled the room. "Would you at least tell us all what happens now? I think that would help out allot and besides we still have to sort this chaos out, Kuran san."

Across the room Zero gave a sharp nod at that. "Indeed! From what I have understood _**she**_ is betraying the council and Yagari san is about to get her for that, I know my teacher much too good for that. He will get her good." He seemed to think his next words over for some seconds then Zero looked directly in Kaname's eyes. "You know as well as I that I will _**Never**_ bow before you or anyone else. It's not my way to live but as I see it now we have to find a solution for this all and that fast! Means before your blasted uncle makes a move and tries to capture Yuuki again!" He said this without his normal malice and hatred.

Kaname had to give Zero that.

Kaname looked long and hard at the successor of a long line of prized hunters. That Zero would never bend before him had been clear from the beginning on, and to be honest, Kaname preferred it that way. He was one of few who had the backbone to call him an idiot if needed and opposed him openly if they thought they had to. Even Kaname needed someone like Zero from time to time too, just like anybody else.

Zero would never back down nor would he ever lie and never would he have to worry that he would not protect his adopted sister. This thought gave the master vampire an idea. He put it back inside his mind to mull over it later, in silence.

"True, you are one of the few who never would. How ever, we both have still this dilemma to deal with but I am sure that we all together will find a way to solve that out too. One thing I would like to point out right away Kiriyuu, you are no longer safe in this house."

Zero gave a snort. "Tell me something I don't already know for once, Kuran."

_**End of chapter. **_

_**I wrote on this the entire night here. Please be so nice and leave me nice comment ok? ( looks with tears in her eyes at her readers, I need feedback as every other writer too) **_

_**Reviews; **_

**lunarstar252, Thank you, Thank you , Thank you I aim to please **

**Carapheonix, I am still on the hunt for a beta !! is sad, how ever, thank you, Lol, I am glad you think so **

**.Rin-Guitar-Star. , Bows, it makes me happy to hear that! Thank you for the compliment! **

**Violeta Ash , sweat-drops madly, you could be right; but I wanted to post it before I would loose my nerves and would not do it; I am shy since I got flamed and harassed so many times in other fandoms. I stopped o write for a long time completely. Thank you, your comment made me happy**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part nine **_

_**Rating; T – M , for later chapters **_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat; **_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__**I am native German. **__**There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I could use a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ thoughts**_

_**AAAA emphasis of something.**_

**Growing attractions, a capricious genius and a ride of no return. **

For the second time in one week, Yori found herself carrying a box with her belongings up a set of steps. Before, next and behind her, others carried boxes too. The verbal fight between Zero kun and Kaname Senpai had been funny to watch. They still were at it.

"You can't just simply barge into our live and take it over, Kuran!" Said vampire just carried on to drag said Kiriyuu on one of his arms behind him inside the Night dorms doors as if Zero said nothing out of ordinary. Behind Zero, Yuuki helped him with pushing Zero from behind. Needles to say, Zero lost the fight before it even begun.

"Oh stop it already Zero!" She panted and pushed again at the reluctant teenager who still tried to avoid it to step a foot inside the night dorm. He would not give up even knowing that he lost already. "You know it's for your best! Its just that you don't want to do what Kaname says." Ichiru stepped gracefully around the three who blocked a part of the door.

He hid his grin behind the box he carried. Yuuki had nailed the problem perfectly. Behind Yuuki Akatsuki finally had enough and gave the struggling Kiriyuu a hard push inside the building. "Stop it already! It's that or the rooms in the council building." With that said he pushed past Zero and vanished inside a side way of the dorm.

Nobody wanted to come here…well, Ichiru was fine with it but that was another story. Chiiro gave the younger twin a suspicious look when she entered the dorm. Ichiru fast sobered up from his glee about his brothers problem. The dark haired girl was not amused, he could tell!

Finally Zero gave up and removed his sleeve from Kaname's hard grip on it. Without a further word he strode off into the direction of the rooms upstairs. His few belongings clutched under an arm in a much smaller box as the rest of them. The others fast went out of the angry teens way.

Yuuki looked troubled after his retreating back. Inside she was torn in two. One side was happy that she would not loose her brother figure with time and to have him near to her again. Overjoyed even. On the other hand she knew that he would not take this all lightly and that he would need a long time to forgive her to take Kaname's side this time.

After all, Yuuki knew best how much he hated it to be a vampire or to take orders from the pure blood leader of them. Kaname watched the interaction with an amused twitch of his lips. He knew exactly what was going through the head of Kiriyuu Zero. As amused as he was it, Yuuki's sudden sad face made him inwardly flinch. Maybe he should have given them one day or two to think it over and decide so themselves as to simply order the other vampires to get their things?

True to be told, Kaname had lost his patience when Zero openly refused him for the third time and called him a bossy, spoiled pure blood. Since he could not order him and the other fife directly, he simply asked his vampires in the room to gather their things and to bring them to the dorm rooms.

It nearly ended into a fight between Zero, him Akatsuki and Kennard.

After a while, the teens gave it up and did collect their belongings together themselves. What leads us to the current situation…

Yori watched Senri kun point at one of the empty rooms that Zero could take. It was a double room like the most here. Her friend would have to share it with his already inside standing brother. With a growl that made the other vampires jump away from Zero he stalked inside and then slammed the door shut.

Honestly, what was Kaname thinking? True, they would have to go here, sooner or later but like this? It would only agitate Zero kun more as necessary. She shook her head and walked over to the other free rooms on the left side. On the right side lay the rooms of the boys, on the left side that of the girls. Both gender shared the same dorms here. It was not as it was in the day class sun dorms who had one girl and one separate boy dorm.

The room she peeked into was already taken.

Shinda and Chiiro again decided to take a room together, to judge from the things already piled over the two king size beds in the room. She walked further along the hall to take the next. Just when she was about to enter, Aido suddenly caught her by the arm and guided her along a few more doors to a room with an open door.

"Kaname san thought you would want to stay with Yuuki again" he told her with a happy grin and left her again in the door entrance. The room had double doors and was on the end of the hallway. Next to it was another room with two doors…she supposed it was Kaname sans. Slowly she stepped inside the big room.

The first room was a kind of living area. Two doors lead to the left and right from it. Her new rooms door was wide open. And on the left side. The most of her things were already inside. "I just decided it without to ask you first. I hope you don't mind me, Yori chan." When Yori turned around, Yuuki stood in her door twiddling her thumps all the time.

Laying down her box next to the others on the big bed Yori turned again to take her friend into a bear hug. "Its alright, truly! I am glad about it, Yuuki." Both girls begun to chitchat happily with each other. Never did they really register it that the rest of Yori's things arrived or that Kaname closed the door to their suite with a bemused and defeated expression behind him some minutes later.

He was glad that the two were talking so animatedly now. Yuuki's depression the last week had taken a toll on Kaname too. Even more so her constant crying. Balling his hands to fists he walked down the busy hallway of the dorm rooms. Upstairs only Kaname's inner cycle had the right to live. Before the newcomers only his most trusted friends had rooms here.

Now the newly turned Nobles would live here too. He needed to constantly watch them now. They had much to learn to survive in the vampire world, filled with politics, old rules and such. As Nobles they now had to learn to act like some…he rubbed his face again. And then there was still the problem with Rido and the hunters…

His uncle had now more problems as before, thanks to the new comers in the dorm. The council of elders was not amused at all about the entire thing. He had tomorrow a talk with them scheduled. Right in the afternoon of the next day, so, no much sleep and cuddling with Yuuki for him later.

Wryly Kaname asked himself for the unnumbered time of his life why he had to be born as a pure blood.

He wanted to maim his uncle! Kaname wished he could kill Rido, he truly did, but he knew he couldn't. This all made him often want to claw up the walls around him in anger! His plan to use Zero for it still ghosted through his head. If he only could find a way to make the youth see how necessary it was for Zero to work with him!

Maybe tomorrow, Kaname thought, after his talk with the council he would find a time to do that. With that he walked over to his own room, deep in thought.

Ichijo in the meanwhile happily talked the rest of the night away with the mostly listening Chiiro. How that vampire could be so cheerful was beyond the brunette but she liked him just like he was and so she put up with this too. He helped her and Shinda to put their things away, brought them something to eat, brought out the linens that had covered the chairs and tables…in short, he almost never let them take a breath!

Shaking her long hair in defeat, Chiiro was finally glad when Shiki Senri suddenly appeared in their room and simply took the merry blond by his right arm and steered him out of her room! As much as she did like Takuma, sometimes he drove even her to far with his constant happy character.

Beside her Shinda did laugh at his pouting face when the sullen Shiki had managed it to keep his hold on the blond haired and green eyed vice president and did not let him escape his grip again. With smirk in her direction the red head finally brought pouting and unreasonable Takuma out of their room and closed the door behind them.

Chiiro could not help it, she did laugh too. That blond was too funny sometimes!

It was already near morning when all finally settled down to get some rest. Kennard found himself back with having to share the room with the Shiki boy. Arching a brow when the vampire suddenly appeared in the former lone room with his things under his arms, he found the other shrug it off and walking over to the not occupied bed in the room. "Takuma snores." Was all the befuddled non Japanese boy got after some seconds staring keenly at Senri's back.

He yawned at that and simply shrugged it off. It wasn't that he was glad to stay alone anyways. Even he mostly had done so in the past. His family made always sure that their only heir was taken good care of… but in true, Kennard had often wished for a companion like the others had them all the time.

It just irked him a little that Takuma was alone now. He had heard they shared a room.

But said Ichijo heir seemed to be ok with it. He even carried some of the things for Senri over to the new room of his friend. Smiling all the time, Kennard compared Yuuki and Takuma for a second with each other. Same kind of person, he mused. He would go insane if he had to put up with that joyous boy all the time!

Shuddering he was suddenly very glad to have Senri in his room with him. not that he disliked Yuuki or Takuma, but he was normally more the quiet loving person. Really not so much used to it have others around him all the time. The most fast retreated when they found out about his family and the rest of the others mostly were after his families influence on the world wide markets and his money.

"You're ok with this arrangement?" he asked the blond and Senri just to be sure. "I mean honestly and not because Kuran has ordered you to." Two slightly surprised gazes, one a stunning blue, and one an equally beautiful green looked at him for a second then both boys nodded. "Yes, Kennard san, we are fully ok with this arrangement. Its true, I do snore…" his face turned a little pink at the embarrassing confession but Takuma bravely went on, "and not only because dorm leader Kuran sama _**asked**_ us." He finished his answer with a blinding smile, thought his face still held a slight pink tinge.

Kennard chuckled, "Don't worry, I will tell no one. Your little predicament is safe with me. But it will be a bad deal for your friend here." Both vampires looked confused at the grinning fire haired youth. Suddenly Shiki groaned audibly. "Not you too!!"

Takuma's laugher filled the room out.

Aido who watched the blond leave the room still laughing, raised a brow at the cursing Shiki behind Takuma that slammed the door shut. Normally he would have asked Takuma what this all was about but not tonight. He had to have a talk with his master vampire to attend.

Stepping to the door he knocked two times and waited for Kaname's answer inside.

The "Come in, Hanabusa." Two seconds later told him that Kaname already sensed him walking to the door before. He pulled the handle and stepped inside, inwardly whapping himself for the surely coming punishment from his leader for his earlier actions this night. He never got one. Kaname only lectured him to be more careful the next time a problem occurred and let it at that.

They talked for almost an hour about what was to do next. Hanabusa figured it must have to do with the entire nights events that he got off the hook so easily this time. What disturbed him a little was Kaname's good night comment to him.

I would like to remind you Hanabusa kun, that you should not barge into Yuuki's and Yori chan's rooms without to ask first, got it?" He gave the now gulping blond a sly smile and signaled at him to leave the room. Hanabusa leaned against the door to Kaname's room after he left his leader alone with a defiant; "Certainly not, Kaname sama!"

Feeling caught wasn't an emotion he preferred to feel at all! Damn his friends honed senses to find out what was going on in his Nobles all the time! Hanabusa rubbed his still glowing face with a shaking hand. When had Kaname found his little secret out anyways? Ok, Kain he could deal with, his cousin always had known what Hanabusa tried to hide. But why must the pure blood find it out too this time?

Finally getting up again, the emotionally drained vampire begun to walk slowly back to his room.

Was he so easily to read? He sure was not! How had Kaname figured his slight obsession with the Wakaba girl out this time again?! Hanabusa passed the room out of that Yori's and Yuuki's laugh was to hear. Even with the doors closed his sharp senses could hear them giggle and quietly talk to each other from outside the closed doors.

Glaring at the blocked doors to will them open so he could enter without to openly refuse his orders, Hanabusa stood there for a few seconds before he gave it up with a sigh. What was he thinking? Of course they would not open from all alone! _**/Baka Hanabusa!/**_ he scolded himself inwardly before he stalked off in the direction of his own room with a huff. Sometimes he asked himself why he was a friend with that sly pure blood anyways. With a last pining look he finally vanished inside of his own room.

His cousin longed onto his bed when Hanabusa entered their shared room. Arms crossed under his head with the wild mob of orange colored hair, Akatsuki seemed hard to ponder about something. When his cousin suddenly loomed over him he gave Hanabusa a confused ; "Huh?" The younger of the two looked ready to kill something, or better, someone.

"Did you?!" Kain was now even more confused as before, what the hell was riding Hanabusa to give him that look?! "Did what?" he brought himself into a sitting position just in case that hellion that was his cousin would do something stupid. Damn! He hated situations like these, when he had no clue what was going on in his cousins head!

Kain watched the fists ball harder, no good! "Did you tell Kaname?!" suddenly it clicked inside of Kain's head. _**/So, that's what's riling him this time!/**_ He heaved a sigh, Kaname must have sensed it too that Aido liked that Wakaba girl a little more as normal and had given him speech…shesh! Could it go even better tonight?

He looked his shaking from anger, cousin into the blazing blue eyes. "No! I told nobody, Hanabusa, I swear!" it wasn't that Hanabusa would any longer now have to fear his families reaction if he truly went after the kind girl, more the opposite would be the matter. As Kain knew their clan, Hanabusa's parents most likely would make a happy dance if they ever found out!

Even encourage it…exactly what his cousin hated the most would happen; they would try to meddle! Kain knew how much Aido hated that. He did hate it just the same. While he watched Aido give him a thoughtful look for fife more seconds before his cousin finally stalked over to their bathroom and slammed the door shut behind him he pondered the danger of the situation inside his head.

Knowing what was about to happen, Kain silently counted to ten inside his mind.

As predicted a loud scream came from the inside just as he thought; Ten. Quickly removing his feet from the floor again, Kain watched his cousins ice suddenly cover the floor of their room in seconds, coming out from under of the bathroom door. He watched with a raised brow the ice freeze over the walls too. What the hell had Kaname said to get him that angry? Kain waited patiently until the ice seemingly removed itself again from the walls and floor. Deeming it safe enough the tall vampire finally laid back again and once again mulled over in his head what had bothered him before Aido made his entrance.

He had to sort his own emotions out here too.

The sound of something breaking made Kain groan. Curse his cousin and his famous temper tantrums! Now he had again to use the others bathrooms until the damage was fixed!

It was hours later, nearly noon when the car left the moon dorm to take Kaname and Ichijo Takuma to the council halls. He left the dorm to Kain and a rather ruffled looking Aido for the rest of the day and night. Arching a brow when he caught Kain telling their servants to please sent for someone who could fix the newly damaged bathroom. A still sulking Aido stood next to him with crossed arms. He barely held his mirth in, Aido could sometimes behave like a child.

A very dangerous child!

Soon his thoughts centered back to the meeting at hand he had to attend soon. Hanabusa watched him leave. He had seen that damned smirk, oh yes sir! Now even more deflated and angered at the same time he went back inside to brood alone in his room. Never less, Aido never even reached his door.

As soon he begun to sprint up the stairs he saw Yori vanish out of the side door from out of the corner of his left eye. He was down the stairs again in record time! Running past his bemused cousin he needed only a few seconds to catch up to Sayori on the path that lead to the school. What could she want there at this time of the day?

When he finally reached her he saw her hold her notebook and a pen. He fast concluded that she wanted to gather up more information about them in the library. Her surprised gaze did meet his when he addressed her. "Hello Yori chan, you can't walk off alone anymore, you know that right?" His voice was nice and lecturing altogether when he reached her.

She shortly looked down at her feet then gave him a nod. "I know, but I thought it would not matter if I only go to the library. I have keys given to me from Cross san. And hello to you too, Aido Senpai." Her gaze meets his again. He gave her a short grin. "Nope, doesn't changes the fact that you will have to take one of us with you from now on. Its too dangerous after the hunters yesterday night made all that chaos. They still run around here on the campus I saw some of them an hour ago. You want to look for more information's there, right?"

At her nodding he gave her a soft smile. He didn't like the sad look she now wore on her face. Somehow, being around her, his normal playboy behavior deserted him faster as he could understand it himself. "I…I could go together with you there if you wish me to…" suddenly the flowers in the grass on the floor were the most interesting things in the world for Hanabusa to look at.

They looked really cute, if you looked at them for a while.

"I would like that, thank you, Aido Senpai." His eyes snapped back to the now at him smiling Yori. He grinned wide and made an elegant looking bow to her…at least he hoped it looked elegant! Sweating under his school uniform jacked he tried to sound as casual as possible. "Well then, shall we go?" It did have the desired effect and he heard her laugh at his antics. For Hanabusa her laugh sounded heavenly.

"Oh stop that! Or I will call you Idiot Senpai again!" Aido gaped for seconds like a fish on land. She wouldn't dare…or would she? "That was mean!" he told her with arms crossing in front of his chest and a mope. "You asked for it." Yori told him back with a laugh in her voice. He wanted to stay annoyed at her…Hanabusa really wanted to do that…he found out he couldn't do that when he heard her happy voice.

Did she even know how hard it was to play his Idol image every night? It was hard work to always play the Happy human in front of the numberless girls of the day school! Somehow Hanabusa did doubt it that Yori saw it like him and finally relented. "Fine, but don't call me that its not nice."

Yori shook her head, he was like a child sometimes. She nodded and both walked down the small way to the door that leads outside the moon dorm. Luckily it was weekend or else his usual bunch of fan girls would already wait outside, Aido suddenly thought. He did not want them to see her with him and then bully Yori. They left the grounds of the moon dorm in mutual silence. Walking down the path to the school, she suddenly turned to him. "I am sorry Aido san, I shouldn't have said that." His dull blue eyes lit with happiness again. Sheepishly scratching his nose he grinned at her. "No, you're right in some ways, I guess my fooling around isn't as becoming as I thought it would be." He took the keys from her hands and opened the door for her and closed it again behind them. When he spoke again his grin was gone, replaced with a somber look that seemed so not to fit with Hanabusa's always so happy looking face at all.

"I hate my idol image. I only wear it to fool others…its not the real me, Yori. The others in the moon dorm know that. Sure I have fun teasing the human girls but do you honestly believe that only one would still want to be with me if they knew what I am truly are? They would not. Rather run away from me but never would they let me near them again if they knew that I are a vampire." She watched him walk with his hands in his pockets. Suddenly his boyish image was replaced with a rather brooding, young looking man with much too old eyes.

"Why do you keep it up then all the time?" She stopped walking and looked right into his blue eyes when he did stop too. "I mean, I always found it odd that you act like that. Often, when Yuuki did again rant about one of your stunts I did wonder why you do that." She bit her lip in a rather cute fashion. How could she tell him that she often had seen him and his cousin talk from out of her old rooms window. When both thought nobody was looking. Their old room had a good view to the little garden part of the school.

She sometimes had just watched the night class students stroll around there at night.

At his arched brow she begun to explain. "I…I sometimes when I was up at night, waiting for Yuuki to return or after learning, saw you and Kain Senpai stroll through the park. You acted a lot more mature then as when you do it at the gates." When her gaze did meet that of Aido again, Hanabusa had the courtesy to blush slightly. She did see them?! He suddenly did remember that Yuuki's former room indeed was on the park side. Aido did doubt it that the others had realized it before too that she most likely knew all along what the night class was.

He closed his eyes and gave a darkly chuckle at that. His still crossed arms uncrossed and he took Yori by the arm to steer her into the direction of the abandoned library. "You knew all along, didn't you, Yori?" at her nod he gave a laugh. "And yet, you never told a soul. Not even Yuuki chan, I bet." He let go of the somewhat surprised Yori again to open the door to the library to lead her through.

Suddenly he stopped to move and lay his head to the side to listen to something invincible to Yori. Before she could ask him what was going on he put his finger to her mouth to silence her and tilted his head into the direction of the front door to the school. She could hear keys turning from afar. Alarmed both of them fast vanished inside of the library and he silently as possible closed the door behind them.

Both could hear someone talking in the distance now.

It sounded like some of the hunters from the night before. Fast Hanabusa took Yori's hand lead her further into the library to find a place to hide between the shelves. He did not like the situation the slightest! What did these primates do inside of the school at the weekend? He had deemed it safe enough for them to come here today. Normally no one was here on Saturdays. Sayori made no sound of protest when he lead her deeper into the room and hid them both behind a corner in the left end of the library from the entrance. She also held still onto his hand he noted with an odd satisfaction. Aido felt her jump a little when the sound of a key turning signaled them both that the visitors tried to open the door to the bookroom. "It's locked! Kuroso gave us the wrong key, damn it!" A male voice told someone else outside. "He said it maybe wouldn't work, Steve! Not that it really would. Come on, he told us that Kaname had removed the old locks and let insert new ones a while ago because of the books inside are only for vampires and hunters eyes." A more reasonable voice answered the first. It was also that of a man. They heard the first cussing and then their footsteps lead away from the Library again.

Hanabusa scowled, this wasn't good, Cross san knew they did not like the hunters snoop around in here. Most likely he gave them the wrong key on purpose to prevent them coming inside. She and he could not stay here for much longer. These hunters would try it again, Hanabusa was sure.

Yori mirrored his thoughts. "They will come back later. Darn it, I wanted to research more!" he nodded at her. "Yeah, they only go now to pest Cross san about the keys." He heard her hit the wall with her book. She still held onto his hand with the other. His blue gaze looked at their intertwined fingers for some seconds. It was impossible now for her and him to find out more.

Suddenly his thoughts lead to Kaname's visit of the elders council halls. His family had also a private house here, near the council chambers containing building. It actually was part of it. The library there was much bigger as the one here! Yori who seemed to have remembered that he still held her hand his, tugged at hers to remove it from his surprisingly strong but gentle hold on it now. He let reluctantly go of her warm hand and smiled an apology smile at her.

"I know where we could go without to fear to run into humans all the time!" He told her happily. She gave him a curios look. "Where?" Before she could stop Hanabusa he had taken her hand captive again and now did escort her back to the door with him fast. "The council library!" He triumphantly told the bewildered girl. Meanwhile he let loose shortly to open and close the room again. Outside of it he again snatched her hand back into his and walked fast down the corridor to the entrance with the bemused Yori following him.

Not that she had much of a choice here to refuse him anyway, Yori thought wryly. Aido was now animatedly describing to her the big Library the council of elders hid in the cellar of his family business building. Open all days of the week for his kind and so, for her now too. She watched him let go of her hand again when they reached the entrance and this time held her hand out to him when he was finished with closing the door again. Now fully amused she watched him take it without a second thought. He didn't even stop for a second to tell her about that Library!

Yori gave it up to try to stop him and just let him drag back to the moon dorm behind him. All the time trying to hold her laugher in on the way. She watched his cousin see them coming back like this from the entrance of the moon dorm. Kain did laugh openly at the cute picture they both made in his eyes. Her desperate , help me, look made him double over with laugher. To Kain was clear that Yori just found out why his cousin was so famous for it to always get his way, no matter what.

Once into motion, Hanabusa was like the little stone that could cause a stone rush roll down a hill. Unstoppable! He pointedly looked down on Hanabusa's hand holding hers when they reached the gate. It did the trick. After blinking a few times at them not comprehending what Kain had he suddenly let go of Yori's hand as if she had burnt him. with a sudden pink tint on the high cheekbones and a mumbled; "I will call a taxi…yes taxi is good!" A flustered Hanabusa all but run inside of the dorm to get his cell phone out of his room and the cursed embarrassing blush from his face!

"Sorry for that." Kain told the chuckling Yori as both watched his flustered cousin stumble up the staircase in his hurry to get away. "He can be a rather pest sometimes." She just laughed at that and shook her head. "No it's aright, he just did not want let go of my hand. What got into him anyways? I didn't know he could be like that, is he always like this, once he is not trying to play someone else?" Kain gave her a long intend look before he gave a sharp nod. "Yes. Trust me, he isn't the idol Senpai all the girls always think of him that he is. But you know that already, don't you, Yori?"

He saw the young woman somber up quickly and then nod. "Yes, I figured already. He isn't quite what the most would think of him. I like him more when he acts like he is doing it now. I never believed him his Idol attitude anyways." Kain made an agreeing sound. Interesting, he thought, Yori seemed to know much more as he thought her to know. And that she made no fun of Hanabusa was a plus in Kain's eyes too.

Even the most vampire girls took this made up person of Hanabusa as the real Aido. Most never questioned him to be otherwise, and if they found the real Aido out, they mostly ditched him fast. What in turn had hurt said noble in the past. Since then, Hanabusa mostly hid his true often brooding nature behind his cheery mask from everyone else as his own family.

Aido was good in that!

And here she was, a formerly human girl that was friends with Yuuki, that Kain never had really noticed before and said girl just put up with his sometimes crazy acting cousin without to mock him or to fast retreat in fear.

He just hoped Aido did not do something stupid into the next future that would scare her away from him. Hanabusa was known for such stunts. When his cousin came back down he had changed out of his uniform and into casual clothing. He even had stopped at Yuuki's door to collect Yori's mantle for her, together with her purse from Yuuki! Astonished Kain watched his cousin give the articles to an equally taken aback Yori. Since when did his brother act this caringly??

This earned him a glare from said Hanabusa. "What? It's a longer ride there and besides its cold outside." Kain shook his head and decided to let it slide that Aido just barked at him this time. He was uncomfortable enough as it was. "Where do you want to go with her anyways? Kaname told us to stay at the school grounds." Yori sudden sad look made Kain cringe and want to take his words back.

Hanabusa gave a snort. "Already taken care of also, I phoned Takuma's Handy and told him if it is ok to drive to town to show her the Library of the council house. He asked Kaname for me if it is ok, he was fine with it as long one of us is with her." He helped her into the mantle. "We want to further look for information's there. Here it is no longer safe. The hunters try to get into the Bookroom here, two nearly caught us earlier." Kain nodded grimly. "I understood, I will tell the others to be more careful. Have a nice day there." With that Aido lead the listening Yori down the path to the front gate of the school again.

Yori was amazed of his caring behavior. When they reached the gate a taxi waited already outside. "Do you really think it's alright to go?" She asked for a last time. Aido nodded and opened the door to the big car. "Yes, he told me Kaname found it even a good idea to look there instead of here. Don't worry, Yori." Before he climbed in too he suddenly looked across the car to two hunters who hurried over to them. Before they could reach them, he closed the door behind him and told the driver to hurry out of here, what the driver promptly did.

"Damn, that was near." He told her in a serious voice. He watched the hunters run around a corner that lead to the car area of the school in a hurry to get their own car. Yori silently agreed to that, what did they want from them anyways? Unconsciously she clutched her notebook closer to her. This taxi was much bigger as the ones she was used too. When a sight blocking glass rushed out from out of the seat frame behind Hanabusa, the girl felt more like sitting inside of a limousine as sitting inside of a mere taxi.

He seemed to read her thoughts and gave a small smile. "These are special taxis. Only vampires use them and then, only us Nobles. Don't worry about it, its common use under us but since you're not used to it its most likely a little strange for you." He smiled encouraging at the stunned girl in face of him. "We almost never use common transport mediums, Yori. Its simply too dangerous for us. The hunter association would only use that to track our ways and to find us easier." His hand nervously reached for his hair. He always did that when he was uneasy, Yori noted with interest.

Suddenly he leaned back into the seat and crossed his hands on his heat. "Sooner or later you will be told anyway, listen Yori, its really dangerous if you make one wrong move with them. When you were still a human they may have protected you from us but now they are your sworn enemies! They do already suspect something and would do everything they can to get their hands on your little, harmless looking note book." He pointed at her book in her hands for emphasis.

"Did you know that even we have never before investigated this phenomenon before?" At Yori's shaking head he nodded and leaned forward again until his arms rested on his knees, hands folded under his chin. "Its true, we never did. Truly stupid, I know but it was never before necessary. Since the eldest of us mostly live in their own world, so to speak and only a few selected serve the really ancients, most of even the elders from the council did no longer knew that it wasn't only a fairytale at all. I did some investigations too, you see." He grinned at her amused smile.

"The last time something incredible like this happened was exactly in the ruler time of Kaname sans grandfather, can you even imagine how long that was ago?" he was surprised when she gave him an answer.

"Approximate in between nine hundred and thousand two hundred years ago, right?" He nodded animatedly at her with a beaming smile. "Yup! Exactly that long ago. Our own people have begun to believe it to be a rumor or a fairytale only. Can you imagine our surprise when we found out that it wasn't a fairytale at all?!"

"Must have been like ours after we found out what we are," She mused out loudly, "I first was so surprised that I double checked my entire notes to make sure I wasn't imagine things!" Yori told him, amused from his sudden energetic appearance. Aido gave her another grin. "I believe! But what most likely was a shock for you, is actually a rare opportunity for us, Yori. It happens just rarely and nobody exactly knows how it works. Not even the pure bloods themselves! Your little research is much more about it as ever before another has investigated this. And from what Kain and the others told me, you did quite a job with that in only one day! Ichijo read most of it, sorry for that but what he did read of it astonished him really much. Kaname too, what's no wonder at all if you think about it a little. With nothing other as your personal experience as a vague point to begin with you found out so much in such a short time. I think you're amazing!" Here he ginned at the now hard blushing Yori. The uncomfortable girl tried to hide behind the carton folders of her notebook from his burning blue stare at her…where had she gotten herself into, Yori frantically asked herself.

As sudden as Hanabusa fixed her with his gaze, he took it from her again. She was just glad he did, in moments like this, the noble scared her a little. He was so intensive! So vibrant and fully captured when something rose his curiosity in him, the fire he then had in his eyes made her shiver against her will then.

Hanabusa did not notice the effect he had on Yori before she suddenly visibly gulped. / Ooops! / he thought, / I did it again, damn! / the most people just wanted to rouse his interest to solve their problems for them. They called him a genius since he could think back. But when confronted with his rather demanding personality once his curiosity was aroused, they mostly tended to leave fast his presence in order to keep some space between the somewhat possessed acting Aido heir and them. He knew he could act rather eccentric once he was in the mood. His sheepish grin told her that he saw her gulp at the displayed true nature of Hanabusa's person when he was interested in something. But Yori failed not to see the flicker of sadness in his blue orbs too.

She realized at once that she gave him a wrong signal when she took in how much animated he could become. In the end he had gesticulated widely with his arms, even his legs had been in motion. And that look… she gathered up her courage, she would not let him recoil back inside his little, I am the nice Aido role model this time!

"Aido …no, Hanabusa kun? His eyes snapped open when he heard her voice call him with his given name and not only the normal family name. He suddenly realized that he did not want her call him anything else ever again! His name did sound so lovely when she used it to call him Hanabusa. He wanted her to call him that more often, just to hear her say it.

When Yori called him Hanabusa, it did sound a lot softer as when others did that, even Kain always only used his name when he was annoyed with him, rarely he did it otherwise. Hardly ever he was addressed by it from others…and when the hell had he closed his eyes?!

His gaze focused at her again, uncomprehending for some seconds. A sudden movement lower caught his eyes and he saw her holding out her notebook to him. On her face, an encouraging smile that made him realize that, no, she wasn't mad or scared of him now and yes, she did accept his other, more passionate side too. This shocked him much more as when he had found out in the past that Kaname was a pure blood!

"If you want you can read it on our way." She told him softly, then she gave him a serious look. "And quite the contrary, I am nothing near to amazing, sorry for destroying your illusions about me, but that's the true. I just have a knack to puzzle out things all the time, that's all on it, really. I…I want to become a profiler in the future, you know."

Aido gave her one of his honest smiles this time and took the book out of her grasp with a bow of his head in her direction. "And that's were you're wrong, Sayori, you are truly remarkable, trust me!" At her sudden sputter he laughed and leaned back out of her personal space to fully read the book meanwhile the driver took them to the town.

Soon he was fully absorbed into her little study about their change and all. He never had realized how helpless humans must feel when vampires bit them, or how painful they found it before! She had really written all down what she had experienced then at that moment and suddenly his rage took over for some seconds. He breathed calmly though his nose for a minute to calm himself down again. He knew his eyes were now bright red he held them closed to not spook her away from him again.

Aido knew the effect the red eyed gaze had on humans and freshly turned vampires too, all too well.

A sudden gasp told him that he hadn't been fast enough and he cursed inwardly for some seconds. He gave it up to hide his eyes from Yori. " I am sorry, Yori, I didn't mean to scare you. Its just…when we get incensed about something our eyes take automatically this color. It happens not only when we feed. I know this scares and reminds you of the moment he took advantage of you being at his grasp but please, believe me; we aren't all like Rido! Take Kaname and us at school for example, the most of us followed Kuran san to try to find a way to coexist with humans without to always take advantage of our inhuman strength or to have to wipe out their minds later.

To end all those useless wars with the hunters all the time.

We even tried to find a way to live without the need to feed from humans, the tablets are the current result to that. It works not always as it should but a lot better as we thought first. The tablets need to be worked on, they taste nothing like the real thing for example, even you are disgusted now of that and me telling you so bluntly. You haven't tried real blood until now, but sooner or later you will have to do so."

Aido knew he was an ass right now but that couldn't be helped. It was the horrible true behind his race. Vampires needed to feed at least once in a short while. Blood was their main foot source and not anything else. Growing up with that fact, he never had the worries and all that humans had with it. They were raised to it to never have that in the first place.

But as a vampire she would need to feed soon, and he did not mean the tablets now! Preferred from another Noble or one of the Pure Bloods if possible, to secure that she changed fully into what they all hoped for. Hanabusa did not want to see her revert back into a D class vampire and then descent into E! It was his biggest nightmare of what could happen to the petite girl. She would soon to have to accept it that she needed real blood at least once in a while. The tablets only took the hunger and bloodlust away.

They still were experimental material and long not fully working correctly as they all hoped that they would in time!

He had seen his own father turn humans with their permission before. To use them as servants for the Aido Family. It was one of the main points for the hunters to hate them so. But born vampires were still a rarity and then they became automatically Noble status. No Noble had ever been a human in his live before. Well, normally they weren't, Hanabusa mused dryly.

If that, what Kaname had told him yesterday night, was correct then they had fast to find a way to make the newly turned Nobles feed from one of them! The pills worked only for so long before they would start to relapse. And that was not acceptable to happen for Hanabusa! Zero was their least concern this time, his brother was also not too much trouble. Ichiru had lived with Shizuka sama nearly all of his short live, the younger twin was used to the sight and sounds of feeding as well as the effects it had on vampires.

Who did concern them were the other four.

Hanabusa troubled currently only one of them right now and that was Sayori. He had to find a way, he simply had to! From servants whom he asked later in his childhood curiosity he knew that they often had some troubles first, mostly when turned against their own will. The others who weren't took the entire thing easier and even found it as satisfying as the born vampires themselves.

He couldn't help to ask himself how Yori would react to it once she had to do it. It was gratifying in his opinion and the tablets were never being enough for Hanabusa to sustain his fevered wish for the real thing! Or to subdue fully his hunger for the substance that he found even sweeter as chocolate.

Simply because they could not give him or the others the feelings the real feeding gave them while doing it. The first time he had drunk real blood had been when he hit puberty and the sheer orgasmic bliss had been nearly too much for him back then. And that did never change! Every time he took blood from others he felt like this, even more so when he could feed off from other vampires! It was for all of them the same.

Aido suddenly wished Yori would feed from him. This thought shocked him a little. Why he did want her to do that with him more as others, bothered him somehow. Slowly the realization that he had a crush on the intelligent girl in front of him sunk finally into his brain. He couldn't deny it any longer, he was totally smitten with Yori. A slight blush followed his realization.

Said girl currently tried to absorb his words without to freak out in the progress. She was too much occupied with her own thoughts and fears right now to see Hanabusa's sudden alarmed look at her or the following dreamy look and blush. He could see that she tried it badly to not jump right out of the car and then to run away from the truth.

Yori was far to smart to ignore facts when thrown right into her face.

Aido Hanabusa knew from experiencing such events before that the girl would never believe him now how pleasurable the entire act was. He bit his tongue to keep himself from scaring her even more now with telling her some, for humans, unsettling facts about vampires in general. Yori couldn't handle it now.

The taste of his own blood washed over his senses and took for seconds his mind of the matter. He barely stifled a groan when some of said emotions dared to drown him under them. He needed soon to really feed again or he would go insane with the time, Hanabusa knew that too well. What dazed him was the sudden yearning to do that with the completely unaware girl with him in the car! It came not unexpected though, Aido Hanabusa knew that he would react like this if he did like someone. He always did so before, now was no exception from the rule. It simply was in his nature to crave a deeper bond then with said person he was fond of and feeding created that.

The unforeseen stop of the car catapulted him all of a sudden right into Yori who was slammed back into the seat from the force. His muttered curse opened his mouth and soon the scent of his blood filled the car. It wasn't to change now, Hanabusa thought when he smelled it. The sudden widening of Yori's eyes and the faster breathing told him of the effect the scent of his blood had on the girl. He barely restrained himself to make any move or comment that could startle her now more. Inwardly he wildly cursed the driver, what was that dim-wit thinking that he was doing?!

When the car suddenly rushed forward again and then sharply turned to the left, Aido knew they had to be in deep trouble! "Stay down and keep your head down!" He told Yori before he maneuvered himself back into the other seat to take the sight stopping dark glass down. It didn't bulge.

This told him that the driver deemed it to dangerous for his passengers to be exposed to the outside! It could only mean one thing, this time he cursed loudly. If they reacted this way, someone made an attempt to whenever, assassinate them or any other possible danger was endangering his passengers right now. Suddenly the voice of their driver filled the room. Aido had pushed the speaker button to listen what was going on outside.

Their driver currently told someone else who his passengers are and called for backup. Yori's white face made Hanabusa curse again and within seconds he was next to her again and pulled her into his arms. He did shield her with his own body.

The next thing Yori knew was that he froze the entire inside of the taxi! Thick, very thick layers of blue ice filled the space around them out in mere seconds. Holding her still in his hold with his strength, Aido lost no time to nearly fill the entire empty space out with his ice. There was a short warning yell and then their world turned upside down!

He lost awareness when his head hit something.

Yori screamed when the car suddenly lost the balance because something hit it at one side and then she felt Aido clutch her almost painfully more near to his own body. They rolled several times around before they finally came to a stop upside down. For seconds there was nothing moving or else going on. Then she suddenly heard a shoot sounding through the sudden silence.

A part of her reacted at once.

In the same second she heard the sound, her strange barrier pulled up again and unknowingly from Yori, pushed the shooter just in time away from the car to miss his target barely, the driver in the front. The very same barrier took place around the entire wreck of the car before she fell unconscious too. From the stress and all the fear as also her sudden exhaustion. She never saw Aido's ice creep out of the cars windows whilst breaking the glass and form a dangerous looking wall outside of it around the car, nor became she aware of the almost respectful and worshipping look the driver gave the not responding couple in the back when his live was saved from them too.

Both did not hear the curses their attacker spit out at them outside their two created barriers, from one of did turn out impenetrable from their weapons or charms and the other proofed to be rather deadly when coming into its reach! The driver watched them retreat after some minutes of failed tries to find a way around it. And he memorized their scents, moves and anything else that could tell the investigators later who they could be. They used masks to conceal their features from him. He listened closely to their conversation about a notebook they could now not get into their hands and cursed the heir of the Aido Noble family in the car back for the ice barrier around the car.

He also did commit to memory that they didn't know that the young lady seems to have powers of her own too and noted with satisfaction that they were rather ticked off about that. His lower body was caught between the rest of the front of the car and the bottom, no problem for him to heal once he was out of the trap again.

He currently worked on it to get hold of his own gun, hidden in the pocked of his uniform jacked. Once he reached it he aimed it at the human outside that had tried to shoot him earlier and pulled the trigger. As expected, the barrier of the Aido heir let the bullet pass. The other, shining one did it too, much to his relieve. It hit the unsuspecting man right in the back and injured him badly. For a human these kind of wounds always meant problems. Before he could get a second shoot, the others reacted fast and brought their companion out of his shooting range with them.

Seconds later he heard their car speed away.

The vampire driver was very pleased with himself, had he not given them a little of the pain back they gave him and his passengers with the hit earlier that send them from the road, with the shoot! The scent of the blood could be used later to track the culprits down too, yes, he was very pleased with himself now. It wasn't all the day that Nobles thought to rescue not only their own lives but that of their subordinates too. Most simply didn't even think of them as persons, he knew that.

They mostly were no more then tools to the Nobles and Pure Bloods, not that he had ever seen a real one of that rare beings before in his long live. He had the luck to have a caring master as his boss who took a good care of his underlings. The driver could pride himself to be one of the best in his job.

When the rescue team finally arrived he got the shock of his live because, the first one who reached the barriers and made them disappear and then spoke gently but also concerned with him was exactly that; a Pure Blood!

**Is happy now -, wrote for you****15 pages**** to read . I hope I made you all happy, even I still need a beta !! Your Suryallee**


	10. Chapter 10

Inner Strength

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Part Ten **_

_**Rating; T – M , **for later chapters_

_**Warnings, blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of that! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. **_

_**Disclaimer;** I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat;_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! I am native German. There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I need a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. **_

_**Thank you, and have fun with my little project. **_

_**Italics; /…/ **thoughts_

_**AAAA **emphasis of something._

**Edit!:**

**!! - A little information! I changed the Ratin to T! Later I will post the M rated chapters seperately in M to avoid troubles. Thank you. - !!**

_**Answers to comments are on the bottom of the story!!**_

**The aftermath of a turbulent day and a gentle person that can keep up with you.**

Yori stifled a painful whimper. Where the hell was she? Her entire body hurt like hell and when she shortly opened one eye, her sight was meet with an unfamiliarly room without windows. The baldachin above her head was a priceless piece of art, she could tell. Closing her eye again, she tried to will the pain down that seemed to come from every part of her body!

Slowly her memory came back to her and told her what had occurred…the car accident…she had been inside that strange taxi…with Hanabusa kun! Her eyes snapped open instantly. Where was the hyper blond? To sit up instantly proofed to be an error she fast decided to never ever make again.

After some seconds Yori managed it to subdue the pain once more. A short check told her that someone had taken off her clothes and put her into a kind of a nightgown instead. Again, a very beautiful piece with hand stitched designs onto its front and she mused also its back. Standing was a challenge, walking to the door across the room a terrible experience. Had she been injured this badly?

Finally reaching the doorknob she turned it and slowly stepped out of the room. Only to be fast caught from a pair of warm arms once she put her foot out of the door. Her captor was a middle aged looking man in a black suit…man in black? Here? She shook her head, yup, her brain was mush!

Said man suddenly called for help. At once the door to her left tore open and soon Yori fully unfamiliar people filled the walkway out. These people all looked stunned…and they had old eyes. Too old eyes with too much knowledge inside, to fit with the mostly young features. Vampires, Yori concluded. They had the same eyes that Hanabusa had when he did not guard them. She wondered if hers would soon look the same and shuddered. She couldn't understand fully what they asked her, her ears worked not right. Again the pain became too much to bear and this time she did scream.

In a fraction of a second, one of these newcomers had hosted her up and brought her back to her bedding from before. For a second she thought the man was Hanabusa kun but his features looked slightly different, older somehow. When the blissful blackness fell over her again, she welcomed it this time with open arms and soon Yori knew no more.

Above the petite golden brown haired girl, Hanabusa's father looked troubled down to the girl in the bed sheets. If they lost her now because of the mental strain and all it would be a disaster! She was a strong one, that was certain! To still be capable to move with that inner injuries…you had to have a height pain endurance or mental power to make that possible.

What Yori didn't knew, they had given her some blood to drink when she was brought inside the building from Kaname san. The pure blood had made her swallow his own blood once they had found out how badly messed up she was inside. The crash and the following fall of the car had given her inner injuries that wouldn't heal without the help of fresh blood.

His son was just the same.

Hanabusa stood currently inside her doorway with only his own willpower holding him upright. He could see his heir watch her sleeping body with true fear in his eyes. The boy belonged back to bed!

"Will Yori san be alright?" Hanabusa sounded really frightened, his father heaved a sigh. To tell his heir a lye now would only make it worse. "We don't know yet. Perhaps yes, go back to bed, Hanabusa, you're also still much too injured yourself to move around. I promise to look after your new friend."

He saw his son bite his lip and then nod. A guard helped him back to his room. Even the Shiki family elder looked concerned down to the girl now. To loose one of them was simply not acceptable for the council and, as it looked for the Kuran Pure Blood too. Kuran sama looked as if he was about to kill something or better someone!

Aido san called a servant to constantly watch over the Wakaba girl from now on. Hopefully she would stay asleep now until her wounds had healed up. If she only did not begin to change back into a level D now then all would be alright! When the others left the room he did shortly bend down to the girl and stroke a few wayward locks out of her angelic face. "Sleep little one, you're safe now." He had seen the desperate look in Hanabusa's eyes when he woke from his unnatural sleep and heard that she was injured too.

He never saw his normally impulsive and aloof son react so worried over a person before ever! For his genius heir, only his family did count for, that and his very few friends. All else could go to hell in Hanabusa's eyes. He truly cared for the delicate young woman in the bed and that made the elder Aido nervous to know. It meant that his son finally found someone that he really cared for.

From what he had been told the last hour she was very smart and kind. And the contents of the secured note book were impressive! Yori could match his fickle sons brainpower and that could not even he, as Hanabusa's his father manage to do easily. He truly hoped she would make it. Her fever had gone down he noted, that was a good sign.

She would wake up hopefully fully healed again.

The tall vampire lord leaved her in the hands of the maid and went back to the meeting he had to attend.

Hanabusa called himself an idiot and bloody moron for the X-th time in the last two hours. His hands gripped hard in his short blond hair, once in a while clutching so hard that he was dangerously near to rip them out. What did he think he was doing when he came up with that brainless idea to take her to the council Library alone?!

He blamed himself for her current condition and all.

Sure, even Kaname san had tried to talk him out of it but Hanabusa who now worried himself sick, paid it no mind. It was his mistake end of story. He wanted to kill those guys! Wanted to rip their hearts out and their heads brought to him on a silver plate! Kaname, seeing him in this state of mind, had stopped after a while to try and silently left him to brooding.

His mother finally managed it to make him feed on one of their servants. He saw when Kaname gave her his blood to stop the beginning process back to a Level D vampire. The stress had been too much for Sayori. The driver who had seen it too had even cried and blamed himself for it. Now Hanabusa knew that it hadn't been his slipup.

Hanabusa was certain that the two hunters from the school had followed them to take the book from Yori. Masked or not, it had to be them. He knew of no one else who wanted to cause her any harm. The driver, his name was Hakatake, had told him and the elders all he had seen and heard. His master had proudly called him one of his best and Hanabusa had to give him that the driver was that surely. Any other would have lost the control earlier or never recognized them following them in time.

Currently the driver was resting too. The elders kept him here for further questions. Slowly his hands let go on his abused hair. Not caring what he had been told, Hanabusa stood again and wobbled over to the door. The guard gave him a desperate look when he reached him but did nothing to stop Hanabusa from entering her room.

The maid was a different matter, he knew her since he had been a child. To his surprise she just reprimanded him to sit down and to take it easy and then helped him over to Yori's bed. There, she placed him into a big chair with a blanked tucked around his body, Hanabusa finally surrendered to sleep. The maid watched him with a shake of her head. Trust it to the young heir of the Aido clan to be that stubborn!

She and the guard exchanged a look that clearly said, how typical! Then she tugged the blanked around Hanabusa more securely in and sat down into another chair to watch the two sleeping vampires in her care. She thought the two made a cute couple. Chuckling now she opened her book and begun to read.

Sayori's eyes fluttered open for a second time inside the same room. She felt much better as before! The sight, however, was a new one. Was that Hanabusa kun over there in that overstuffed chair? He looked really cute when he slept. She giggling took in that he did slightly drool when asleep and raised her hand to her mouth to keep her laugher from waking him accidentally up. Suddenly a kind looking woman appeared over her and asked her in a hushed voice how she was feeling. Yori thought about it a second then told her that she felt just fine. The maid helped her sitting up and pushed a cushion into her back to make her more comfortable.

The next Yori saw was a glass, filled with a red substance in her view. She took it, but made no move first to gulp it down. Her new much sharper sense of smell told her clearly what the glass contained.

"Its blood."

Her head snapped to the speaker of the dreaded words who now looked very alert and very awake over to her. Hanabusa saw the beginning terror in her gaze and fast entangled himself out of the blanked around him to fast reach over to Yori to take the glass out of her hand. He put it down on the nearby standing dresser to his left. Then he turned around to Yori again. The maid stopped dead in her tracks and then leaved the room silently.

Most likely to tell the elders and his father, he concluded.

Yori had shut her eyes tightly and breathed through her mouth to not have to smell the fragrance of the blood. Hanabusa watched her doing this to calm down with sorrow in his eyes. He had feared it would sooner or later come to this confrontation. It just was sooner then it was later.

Changing from his chair to the edge of her bed the Noble did his best not to spook her more. He just watched the shaking frame of her for seconds...until the first tears appeared. Then he snapped. Without to care now, he gently cradled her against him and held her there until the sobbing noises stopped.

For the first time in his live, Hanabusa didn't know what else he could do and it made him feel helpless. "Listen to me Yori, please you have to do it. You were damn near to relapse back into a D Level vampire when they found us! Do you understand? You will surely die in a short time if you don't do it. Rido will get what he wanted, if you don't do it." Hanabusa saw down in her blank face when he spoke. Abruptly it morphed into an expression of utter revulsion when the word, Rido left his lips.

This puzzled him a little but he fast used it to try to coax her to give in and swallow the blood in the glass.

"You have to drink, please!" Taking the glass from the small table he slowly brought it back to the still slightly shaking Yori. She clasped now the front of his sweater between her fingers, so hard, that her knuckles had turned white.

After a little while staring at it, he finally watched her let go on his shirt with one hand and take it out of his hand. Shuddering Yori finally brought it to her lips and closed her eyes. He did not let her stop until she had drained it all. Hanabusa even went so far to call for a second and made her drink it too. Only then, he finally relented and helped her back into the cushions. He knew she felt awfully bad now and that she most likely cursed him silently for this but still, the vampire felt only relive flood his mind when she finally finished the second goblet.

At least she has done it! That was all what mattered for Hanabusa. All else could wait a little longer. As long she would drink blood now from a glass once a day, he didn't care. It was a big glass, he mused and silently congratulated himself for it to have made her consume its filling two times.

/First step done!/ He gleefully thought. Hanabusa knew, from here it was only a matter of time and the right moment and then she would finally feed like everyone else. Most of his family servants begun in the same way.

Hanabusa knew that his family was more relent to their servants as the most. But it paid off. The truth was, the most other Noble families had troubles with their servants. The Aido clan had almost none! They held the record of the Noble clans who lost the smallest amount of their servants to level E or had the minimalist running off underlings in history. Next to the Akatsuki family.

His father took a certain pride into this fact. Now his son did it too he was suddenly very glad for his families way to handle their servants. It made it easier for Hanabusa now to handle Yori and her fears. But they still were Nobles and as such they mostly thought like the rest of the upper class vampires too.

The former humans did not really count for him. For the personal servants of his family he held a certain fondness but the rest did not truly matter for him. Hanabusa knew how superior he was compared to them, and the Pure Bloods to the Nobles in return. It was the way the live was working in his world.

Human kind held barely an interest for the vampire as being much more as his food source or to use them to gain a better status. Mostly they did not even count for him at all. The hunters, now that was a different kind of matter.

If he could respect a human then it was a hunter and their skills.

Well, mostly he could, in some cases he loathed them more as anything else. Yagari san was a good example for an excellent hunter that he could respect. The ones he suspected to have attacked him and Yori, he would gladly kill himself if he could ever get his claws on them!

His brain was constantly trying to put the facts together to make a full picture out of it. Even when he was holding Yori like he did it now. The girl finally calmed down and stopped to cling to him. much to his sadness.

As if she had read his mind her soft voice filled his ears with exact the same questions Hanabusa himself tried to make a sense out too. "Who do you think did attack us on the road? I somehow cannot stop to think it has to do with the ones that tried to follow us when we left the school." She trailed off. Yori tried to keep her embarrassment down in talking to Hanabusa.

She was inwardly mortified right now!

The taste of the blood was still on her tongue and Yori choked a little at the taste. Sayori simply could not help it, for her it was a miracle how he could love it so much to drink it! She felt…yes how did she feel actually?

Disgusted, hopeless, angry and hurt? Most likely a mix of all. More so because a sick part of herself had enjoyed it to consume it. What had stunned her the most on the entire situation. Not the taste itself but the sudden emotions that made her give in to Hanabusa's soft coaxing to take a second glass full with blood. She was utterly on a loss here. Yori made a note to herself to ask Zero later about this all and tried to not think to closely about it right now.

What was also humiliating was the way she had let him hold her all the time. She knew that she trusted him already more as she probably should. A part of her brain, the rational part put in that this weakness had brought her here in the first place. Also, Yori suspected it deeply, that he had taken full advantage of it to make her give into him and drink the blood in the end.

Somehow she couldn't bring herself to it to hate him for it. Not when he was so caring and gentle to her. She was conflicted now. He wasn't a human at all…for the very first time she begun to understand that fully. Hanabusa did not think like her or even feel the same as her. The differences between her and his world and beliefs finally sunk into the brain of the girl and what she concluded out of the given facts made her uneasy in his presence.

Between them two lay an entire universe of differences of that she never thought of before in her live. If you compared him to the boys she knew, he was not only different to them, Hanabusa played in an entirely other league!

He just wasn't an odd other human, he was a vampire and a born one at that. A Noble, aristocrats under the vampires themselves…and not just another human boy. As that, he acted different from them and thought different too. She found that she could no longer put up with that error of her to compare her human friends with him to fool herself just a little longer.

What Yori had done all the time to comfort herself. How did Zero kun always call them? Beasts in human disguise, yes, that was it. To finally admit it to yourself that you now are one of them too was an uncomfortable reality that sat not well with Yori at all. She understood Zero now better as before! His always irritated behavior made finally sense to her.

On the other hand, Hanabusa and his friends would never fully understand humans in their entire live either. To deep rooted the differences of the two species she concluded, for letting that happen in the future. She wasn't even sure if she would ever find a way to fully understand this miracle herself.

His voice brought her back out of her deeply musings.

"Yori? Did you hear me?" he had a cute, confused expression on his face. Never before had someone spaced out on him before! She blushed adorably a deep crimson before she answered him true fully with a sheepish grin. "No, I suppose not. Sorry but I was deeply caught in a sudden thought of my own, Hanabusa kun." Her eyes grew distant again meanwhile she talked.

It puzzled Hanabusa and made him curios about her thoughts at the same time. What did she think about so deeply that it made her react like that? "A imaginable kingdom for your thoughts?" he joked, not really trusting her to even listen when he saw her inward look appear again.

He didn't like it when she did get that look! It made Hanabusa feel left out. When she failed again to answer him, he began to poke her in the side with his pointy finger in his growing annoyance. Yup, she had tuned him out again! Somehow Hanabusa began to suspect that this was how he himself reacted all the time when he was thinking…no wonder Kain always screamed then at him to get his attention.

A particular hard poke got her attention back to him again. And she blushed again, hard when realization set in. What made him grin a little sardonic in response. "Hey! Don't zoom out on me all the time!" He told her. "What is more captivating here then me?" the second that words left Hanabusa mouth he wished he could take them back!

Now it was him who's face held a deep blush. Yori blinked a few times before she burst out laughing.

Meanwhile she did laugh so hard that she had tears gather in her eyes, she couldn't help but to watch the now fuming Hanabusa on her bedside. Maybe, Yori thought, maybe they aren't so much different from humans as I first thought. At least not this one vampire Noble extraordinaire! That thought made her giggle even harder. What in turn made Hanabusa glare harder at the petite girl next to him now. She would tell him what she had going through her head right now! He would make her tell him! And if that was the last thing in the world he would ever do, she _**would**_ tell him!

Pouting he crossed his arms before his chest and glared at her. First Yori spaced out and then she did laugh like that…not fair! Why did that cursed slip had to leave his mouth? She had to believe now that he was a bigheaded moron! The urge to slap himself was hard to resist.

If he was honest with himself he found her laugh adorable. Her current emotional state was much better as the depressed one from before. Much better, Hanabusa decided even if it was only because he _**again**_ made a complete fool out of himself what was making her laugh so hard now. He began again to prod her side with his finger to make her stop.

But Yori did not even hear or see him now, she currently was too busy with it to stop herself from laughing so hard and to avoid his finger jabs that made it even worse! When she finally managed it to stop laughing the door rescued her from Hanabusa's waiting wrath just in time. Inside stepped Kaname and Hanabusa's father.

Both newcomers watched with amusement a still grinning Yori trying to fend off the, her still persistently poking fingers of an equally clearly none amused Hanabusa. The scenery made his father groan and rub his face with one hand and made Kaname grin and shake his head at these antics of his childhood friend.

"Hanabusa!" his fathers booming voice made said vampire fast clear that lord Aido wasn't as amused about Hanabusa's teasing Yori as Hanabusa was it himself. What in return provoked a rare laugh out of the Pure Blood. It wasn't all day that you saw his friend in this uncomfortable predicament at all. Kaname Kuran could not help himself, the picture was just too funny to watch. Finally giving it up…for now…Hanabusa stopped it to tease her but refused to leave the spot on her bed.

His fathers eyebrow begun dangerously to twitch at that picture but he finally let it be to try to remove his son from there. Instead he walked up to the abandoned chair and sat down. Kaname soon followed his move and also sat down into another chair, next to the couple on the bed.

His eyes drifted over to the now empty glass on the table.

"I made her take two of them, Kaname san." His friend told him nonchalantly and he nodded relived at that. At least Yori would now take it although reluctantly, but that was fully acceptable for now. Her suddenly miserable face made him fast changes the topic. "Sayori san, I would like to ask you to stay here in the custody of the Aido family for a little while longer as planned."

Yori gave him a questioning glance. "And why is that? You know, I would rather like to go back the school to my friends, Kaname san. Nothing against Hanabusa kun's family, I am sure they would take a good care of me, but why do you want me to stay here for longer? Is there something wrong?" Hanabusa's father nodded to her. "No offence taken, Wakaba sama but you have to understand that since, you two were attacked a few hours ago, we would first like to get the culprits caught or killed before we will let you go back again. You have to know that they were after you and your studies and not after my son."

His answer made Sayori pause. Killed?! She gulped at that a little. But it made sense to her. These attackers had tried to kill her too, so… "Alright then, Aido san, I will stay. Thank you for letting me and taking care of me under your roof, sir." If Yori had stood, she would have bowed right now. Her parents always prided themselves for it to have educated their children correct manners. Somehow, it seemed fitting to address Hanabusa's father this way.

The girl saw the eyes of the lord brighten with pleasant surprise at her proper manners. He hadn't known that she was so polite if needed. Sure, Kaname had let the council investigate the background of each one of them as soon he knew who it was but hers was the most unusual side in their investigations book.

They knew about her that she was truly gifted and like his son, a kind of a genius herself. That she didn't like it to be addressed as such and that she was a hard worker if needed. That her family owned a shrine near Kyoto and was rather poor, since her fathers accident a few years back that ate the most of the spare money with the hospital bills. He was invalid since then and needed the constant help of a wheelchair.

Sayori was at the cross school via a stipendium, hard earned through constant working on her already excellent grades. That she also had worked next to school live to earn some money to help her family out. With writing essays for companies and such or taking jobs in the neighborhood.

This girl had already lived a hard life until here and wasn't stupid at all. Not even his lord Kuran san had known that she was only at the academy because of that. Wakaba Sayori was an enigma. She never told a soul about it nor did she flaunt it around that she was so intelligent. Yori as she was called, was a rather quiet person that loved it more to stay alone or to talk and help her a small number of friends as to make a party all day.

Just like his son she loved it more to stay alone most of the time. Not that she was a loner, she just liked it more to learn and study or to enjoy the nature as to talk big. The people mostly did not understand her and they had hurt her often in the past because of her study nature…just like they had hurt Hanabusa too. No wonder that the two felt drawn to each other, he contemplated silently.

Were his son often got carried away when his interest was drawn to something, she reacted more serious and calm then. Somehow the elder Aido thought that he should have known from that alone that Yori would have good manners too then. He chuckled darkly. Most of the time he and his wife had to hold Hanabusa in line. On soirées and such. His passionate nature drove them often up the walls and he could act unpredictable too.

Maybe she could see to that whilst she staid here.

That she was a very beautiful young girl helped the entire matter too, he had to give her that Yori looked rather cute with the big brown eyes and the short curly hair. The color reminded the head of the Aido clan at dark gold all the time.

Beside him Kaname was asking her questions about her view of the entire attack and told her in return what they knew. Sadly she knew no more as Hanabusa too but she quipped in what she knew of the time the hunters had held them locked up in the wine cellar. What no one had realized before, she had noticed.

Back then, Yori could not make sense of it all.

Of course she had noted the different behavior of the hunters to them but at that time she had not thought much about it. To caught up in her own misery and all. But now, a few days and events later, she finally put two and two together and out came not four this time! She told Kaname as such.

If Yori hadn't been so preoccupied before, she would have already mulled it over, she was sure! When Kaname and she talked about the hunters that tried to follow her and Hanabusa, she suddenly had one of her famous brainstorms and told him and them what she did remember.

It begun with the way the hunters had reacted to each other in the cellar.

That some of them had been almost friendly and some not. Now this could be explained with their different characters but the next, not really. First she had seen only the younger and mostly laughing hunter, that one, that had teased her and gave her the tablets. Then suddenly he had been replaced by that always scowling and Shinda harassing Hotland guy. What she had never thought more of before was the way how her female guard from that day she went to the shower, had reacted to him. As if the two could not like each other well or in the afterthought, came from two opposing fractions of the hunters.

And then there was the way Yagari san had suddenly appeared in their cell in that night the hunters killed the others. He had looked around him as if he feared someone could see him there. She just never gave that a second thought, because at that time Yori had believed that he was saving them from the vampires and nothing else. Now she questioned her first impression.

Her information's got Kaname thinking. And Hanabusa too. He asked her holes in the stomach about their reactions to each other but Yori seemed to not take any offense in him. She took his questions as they came and tried her best to answer them all.

What made them all curios was the way he had hidden them and later fast removed them out of the room again. Always, Yagari had worked alone. He brought them to the other room alone and brought them to the house alone later too. That wasn't normal Kaname told her. Normally he would have had backup or at least brought one other hunter with him to keep them under watch. But instead he did it alone. That he had held off the council from killing them was another detail that seemed not so really to fit into the entire puzzle.

"Its like he was acting out of his own motivation and not on any kind of order." She told them. Even Zero had told her so before. He had wondered about this all after they had settled down in their temporary rooms. Sure, she could be wrong but somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more going on behind the scenes as only the ordinary. "And then the way Hotland and Touga san reacted to each other the night in the living room when the hunters came in…" Yori shortly spaced out again this night. Suddenly she talked on "The way that Hotland addressed him, I found that strange. I mean, look at it a little more closely! Hotland acted almost violently towards Yagari san. He openly accused him to have taken side with the enemy and such. Do you remember, Hanabusa kun? When he marched over to them on the couch and suddenly yelled at Yagari san?"

"Yes, that he didn't tried to punch him was all." Hanabusa clearly remembered that scene from a few nights before too. Why hadn't he noticed that before?! She was right, something didn't fit here.

"It looked to me as if he tried to anger him on purpose and not to anger Kain Senpai at all. But what makes me now truly believe it that there are two fractions in the hunters, is the little fact that nobody but me have seemed to notice fully." Now all looked somewhat perplexed at Sayori. Hanabusa's agile mind tried to catch up with her, what did she mean with that comment? Suddenly it hit him hard. "Cross san! You mean Cross san right? He came in with them, yes but almost at once they took seats he walked away from them over to a secluded spot and sat down there, away from them. On the same side of the room where Yagari san sat on the couch!" His fist met his open hand with a loud noise when he hit it into the open palm. Only those two had taken seat away from the rest of the hunters and that, wasn't normal at all!

Hunters always took the position of hunters against vampires, never the opposite. And the place Yagari had sat in was not really on the vampires side that night. He sat just beside Kain on that couch in the left end of the room. Cross had taken a seat next to him on one of the lone chairs not so far away. Not to near but not on the side of the president either. But clearly on his part of the room. Kain had sat on the other side of the couch, more to the side where the vampires gathered together, with Shinda on his lap. The space between them had been nearly two seats long. And the night class members who had strolled over to Kain to help him if necessary had soon stood in front of Kain and Shinda, away from Yagari san.

"Exactly! I am sure now, that night, there weren't only two group in that room, there have been three and nobody noticed it until now!" Yori told them in a shocked voice. It made now sense to her. "The first was the Hunters with the female president and Hotland on the right side…" She elaborated.

Hanabusa nodded wildly at that and quipped in, "The next was ours on the left…"

Yori finished it. "and the third was represented through Yagari san and Kuroso san just in the middle of us!"

Both grinned now at each other in their glee. Their minds ticked much alike. Kaname and lord Aido exchanged an alarmed look at that, if that what these two just told them was true then certain events lately made suddenly an all too good sense! Put that together with the presidents connection to Rido and you got a dangerous mix out of the entire situation!

"How could we have missed that?" Kaname asked lord Aido, who in response shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe because we never thought of something like that coming?" He replied to him in an equally quizzical voice. "It could be and if so, then we have to be very careful around the hunters from now on. I suspect it has to do with the headquarters of the hunter organization world wide. They have distrusted the council here in Japan now for quite some time I was told a while ago from one of my informants." The lord fell silent again.

Kaname nodded, "Then Yagari san is clearly on their side. His last comment made that certain" Yori and Hanabusa agreed with him there. Anything other made just no sense. It also meant that the headmaster Cross was on their side too. And that the leaders of the hunters world wide backed him up in his tries to gain a constant peace with the vampires.

"From now on; " Kaname said while standing up again, " no one goes near to their fraction of hunters without letting me know! Tell that the elders too, I want to know everything that is going on around them. Everything! And please, try to make a secret meeting possible between Yagari san and me. Nobody has to know about it who isn't trustable!" The lord stood too and nodded to him. "I will make it certain that not even the council will know, my lord. I already know a good place for that too, Kuran sama." With that both left again.

Yori and Hanabusa exchanged worried looks with each other. This did not bode well at all!

**End of this chapter. **

**A special thanks to my last reviewer on chapter 9. Thanks for motivating me to write more (is happy) I had to write it this way, sadly. I would have loved to center only on my main characters fully, namely; Yori and Hanabusa. But I also wanted to make certain that the plot works. All of it, until here has a purpose. Even it isn't to see completely until now. That comes later. From now on it will center mostly one the two, and the other pairings I introduced already. I hate plot less stories --! They often ruin the entire story then and that makes me sad. Because they make no sense. Thank you for the congratulations to reach the magical ten chapters mark, grins here, don't ask me where they all came from; I normally do not update this fast, trust me; some other of my stories are not updated for months now. (hides from her readers) lets say, life got in my way here. First my I got hunted from a group of flamers all over the net, then did my childhood friend, Anya die and lately my mother had nearly a heart attack that had us, her family worry for a while for her life. Add to it that I have a daughter with autistic syndrome, you can most likely imagine why I stopped my writing for a looong while fully. **

**How ever, I hope you all had fun reading until here…I still need a beta, sadly.**

_**Your Suryallee **_


	11. Chapter 11

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Disclaimer; **_I do not own Vampire Knights or the charas of the manga and anime. I do own how ever, Kennard and Chiiro, Shinda is a chara of the original manga, she is the girl with the glasses who likes Zero so much…if someone doesn't know that.

_**Part Eleven**_

_**Rating; **__T – M , for later chapters_

_**Warnings, **__blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. _

_**Disclaimer**__; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat;_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__I am native German. __There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I need a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. _

_Thank you, and have fun with my little project. _

_**Italics; /…/ **__thoughts_

_**AAAA **__emphasis of something._

**Other: This is for flaming Ember san this time, and don't worry, I understood your name perfectly well, gives a beam. And a very deeply thank you for all those lovely reviews! They all made me very happy and motivated me to write more. **

**Suryallee**

**A trip to a hall and sinister plotting **

Shortly after the two had left, Hanabusa's Handy did chime. It was his cousin on the other side who told him some things to tell Kaname san. Meanwhile he spoke, Yori yawned a few times, then she fell asleep.

Putting his handy back inside his pocked, Hanabusa saw at her sleeping face. She still needed rest and with a soft caress of his hand through Yori's hair the vampire Noble left the room too.

Very far away from the council building and his families business mansion, a silent figure sat in a comfortable room with his chin probed up on his fist. This man had two different colored eyes and reddish black hair. His name, Rido Kuran. His species, vampire, a Pure Blood to be exact.

No one else was inside his room with him, having dismissed them right after he got the _**News**_ from the Shiki elder told that the rumors indeed were true, since then he sat in silence in here. Undisturbed. He still couldn't get it! How could his entire plan go this awry?

Shaking the dark mane he finally stood and walked over to the only window of the room. To think of it that he accidentally did the new Kuran princes a favor when he originally had planned to make her and Kaname pay with changing her friends was really something else! That he could even do something like this…

Rido needed more information's on this matter! But the only person that seems to have the intellect for getting him some was that girl, whose glare still sends shivers down his spine. He was tempted to just let her turn into a D Level, back then, but she had been his closest hit on Yuuki and so he did turn her like he did turn the others.

She was guest to the Aido clan now, huh? No wonder if the rumors are indeed true and their heir liked the golden haired girl more then normal. Come to think about him, said heir was also someone for whose intellect he could have use for in the future. Sadly, he was a friend of the son of Haruka and Yuuji too.

His nephew begun to become a formidable treat to his plans! With his friends and his connections…and he still could see the girl glare at him with her strange determined eyes in his inner minds eye… she, she was fascinating Rido. Somehow…

And that his son, his puppet had taken Kaname's sides now too wasn't helping the matter at all! Now Rido had to search himself another body to use for his plans, curse this reborn soul! And Ichijo's grandson too! That brat had ruined it all too with his loyalty to Kaname.

Well, that wasn't to change now again, now was it? He grinned one of his disturbing smiles that scared the most people away from him.

Again her brown, angry and defiant eyes came into his mind focus. All the better for him, wasn't it? He thought with a laugh. A Noble she was now, huh? He shortly wondered what she could find so fascinating in the Aido brat that he didn't possess. Maybe because that boy was known to be charming? Well, he could be like that too.

Suddenly stopping in his tracks, Rido made for the first time in ages a really funny face! Only good that no one was in here to have seen his slip! Rido Kuran gave a bark of laugher, well that was new! He attracted to a female…for minutes he didn't stop to laugh, and even after he calmed down again, Rido still chuckled mirthfully.

Going back to his couch, he sat down again. Now that she was what she was, he found he should pay her a visit again. In his mind already plotting how he could manage to accomplish that without to get killed by that Kiriyuu brats in the same second, his mismatched eyes noticed a request note to attend a ball in two days from now.

They narrowed and with a flick of his wrist he snatched it from the side table to read over it anew.

It was an invite to the years ball of the Shirabucki family…Kaname and Yuuki would sure as hell attend it and most likely be pressed from the Elder council to show the new Nobles to the society there too…perfect!

They could not fight there, it was a safe ground on that they all could meet without bloodshed. Senri's mother had soon bored him. She had been broken so fast…Rido wondered if he could ever break that little girl like her. Something in his brain told him that she wouldn't give into him so easily as one would think. If this Sayori was truly a genius then she maybe could even give him amusing answers back…again his laugher filled the room. Her cussing at him and his family line had highly amused him that night, she was creative, that was certain!

It was set then, he would go and say his hello to Sarah and family then.

What reminded Rido that he still had to find a way to kill that Ichijo elder for his disloyalty to him in the near future! He just wished that he would have known before hand that he could do such a thing, and that she was so amusing…Rido would never have let her slip through his fingers then!

He rang a bell.

Half an hour later a messenger left the building of the main Shiki family in the direction of the Shirabucki family estate. Rido asked himself if his cousin, Sarah was still so attracted to that cursed hunter with the single eye, Yagari Touga. He knew that the human was it still to her. Why she never did just turn him and kept him as her lover was a miracle to Rido Kuran but then again, she wasn't his former wife Shizuka.

Sarah would never risk Yagari to be killed from his fellow hunters on a whim of Rido. Or risk it that he gained any kind of upper hand on her. He chuckled darkly, maybe he should send an invite to the hunter organization for him and that Kuroso to attend the ball too? Just to tick her off? He nodded at his own idea. It would be amusing to watch those two struggle with the two's now 20 years old magnetism between each other, this time he laughed.

He had watched that posse since the very beginning, 20 years ago. When that hunter was just beginning his career and was much younger and one day had accidentally rescued her from a car crash. She still looked like barely 19 years old but he did not. In the years he lost one eye and grew into a real danger for every vampire alive…for a moment he asked himself why that cursed hunter couldn't have been there at the school that night.

How much that would have angered the high council of the hunters to loose their top hunter to the vampires…! And even if he didn't have made it, he still would have angered the damn council with it. Rido knew that he was a secret member of the highest ranking hunter council. As it was that cursed former hunter Kuroso too, the one all called Cross san.

He shortly lost himself inside his musings.

But first things first, Rido thought. He had to get his hands on that note book of the cute girl. The president and her goons had failed to obtain it for him. Now did a dangerous expression enter his eyes. They nearly killed the Wakaba girl in the process! The leader of that group was currently a visitor of his dungeon here, one Rido planned to pay a visit later to teach him some lectures about endangering something that he saw as his!

When Yori woke, the sun was just setting. Feeling much better she jumped practically out of the bed. She craved a shower, badly! The same maid from before told her that she would now take care of here as long she was here…this startled Yori a little. She could take care of herself since her 6 birthday! But not wanting to upset her current hosts, Yori just relented to smile pleasantly and then did ask for the direction to the next bath.

Said bath was an adventure of its own!

Honestly! Who did need a bathroom that was as bigger as her family's living room at home?! She shook her head, this was ridiculous! And was that real gold on the controls? Shaking it off, the girl took the liberties of time and warm water to take a long one!

When she left it again, she found a beautiful evening dress laying on a bench specially made for the purpose alone to lay the change clothes of the bath users onto. Again Yori could only wonder how rich Hanabusa's family was.

The maid had asked her about her favorite colors and designer before she went to take a shower…how had she obtained clothes like these that fast? Yori decided again to not question it and put them on. They did fit, no surprise here for Yori. She never thought it otherwise.

Outside she was greeted with an empty room and a tablet with food on the table on the left. Her eyes spotted at once the dreaded glass full to the brim with fresh blood onto it. For some seconds the girl just wanted to take it and to put the contains into the next toilette…after a minute she stopped herself from it and simply took it and emptied it.

Again that strange sensations washed over Yori. This time the red stuff even tasted better to her as before. She gave a shudder. Yori did not want to feel like this! Or to enjoy the taste of it! The former human was feeling disgusted with herself now. She couldn't handle the strange effect blood was having on her. Again she wished she could ask Zero about this all!

And why did she suddenly ask herself how Hanabusa's blood would taste like?! Shaking her head wildly Yori tried to get rid of that disturbing new desire that she really didn't want to explore further here! Setting the empty glass back down on the tablet, she suddenly felt hungry no more. But she ate, none the less, a few bites from the eggs and the ham on her plate.

This minute used a certain member of the Aido family to knock at her door and to enter her room. Hanabusa had woken up a few hours earlier as Yori. He was used to it from school to wake up in the late afternoon to have time enough to get ready for the night. He could barely hold himself back from simply run into Yori's room to wake her up too. He wanted to use the time he had with her alone. Without nagging and noisy cousins and bossy Pure Bloods around him to pest him all the time! Hopping from one foot to the other and annoying the hell out of the rest of the household with it, Hanabusa had tried to distract himself until she woke up and was ready.

It made his father want to murder his own child for the rest of the time she was still sleeping! Lord Aido was just ready to climb up the walls of his own home when the maid mercifully told his infuriating son that the young lady was awake. Said son was faster out of the room as he could blink! Exchanging a bewildered look with his wife, both broke out into a big laugher. Who could have known that Hanabusa could move this fast?

His younger sister just shook her head at the antics of her brother. She always knew before that Hanabusa was nuts!

Not waiting for Yori to recover from his sudden bouncy entrance, Hanabusa walked over to her to wish her a good morning…err night. Yori could only smile at his hyperactive cheery self this nighttime. He seemed to have eaten too much sugar before or something that seem to make him more energetic as usual, at least Yori mused he must have.

Leaving her no time to mull about it more he suddenly did run out again.

Only to return to the now fully confused girl with something in his hands. Her Note Book! Yori recovered it fast from Hanabusa who had waved it in the air with one hand. That Aido! Didn't he know that it would loose papers if he did that? Fast checking on it she finally thanked him for bringing it back to her.

"I wanted to take you to the building on the other side of the great market place behind our house." He told her taking her hand and dragging her over with him to the door. "The elders gave us permission to use the library and even to go inside the secret part of it too, if we still wish to do some research." Without to wait for her response he urged her over to her new shoes meanwhile he spoke to her…much to Sayori's amusement. Did that guy ever shut up? Or at least, let people get used to him first? She did laugh to herself. He was so damn full of life in all what he did! "Now hurry up already! Geez, you girls always need ages to get ready!" His habit to hop from one foot to the other when forced to wait was showing again.

Hanabusa never even realized it that he did just run Yori over with his bubbly nature when exited about something…as always! His father watched the interaction between the two from out of a safe distance. He saw her face alter from surprised to confused then turn into a , _**I give up**_, expression to finally settle into an amused and tender grin.

He never saw her look repulsed or getting angry. Most would have told Hanabusa until now to shut up already, even Kain, but not Yori. The girl just took calmly her time in finishing up to dress and then let him drag her away with him in silent tolerance. His heir was right; this girl was amazing! First he had thought that Hanabusa had maybe frightened her with his passionate nature but now he thought different.

The young lady seemed to be the answer of his wife's and his own prayers.

The lord watched her rescuing Hanabusa a several times on their way out of the house. Sayori rescued him before he could to stumble over something in his way, or run into a person on accident, or just to hit something over on their way out of the building a several times. Lord Aido could barely suppress his laugher. And how she did that first was it worth to watch her all day!

Smartly, she altered their route a second before he could run into someone, or Yori simply tugged at his, hers, holding hand to keep him from hitting something onto a side table. All, without his son even noticing it that Yori did that!

Priceless!

Her always soft smile, directed at his son told him and his wife beside him that this young woman liked the company of their son…even if he acted this energetic! She was a miracle! Both watched the two finally vanish through the entrance door with four guards in tow. Not once she told Hanabusa to let go of her hand or to calm down…she didn't have too, he did it from all alone on their way.

When both did reach the door, he had already calmed down a little, much to his parents surprise. He even watched out to not hit against something on his way by his own now…the lord hoped that the investigators needed longer to solve the accident!

He wanted to keep the silent girl here for a while.

Yori had seen them standing in the end of the hall when Hanabusa and she left the house. Or should she say mansion? Villa? All did fit here! From the outside the building was really huge, it seemed to blend flawlessly into two other ones, equally huge.

Across a bigger place she could see the third of these three way mansions. To her all looked like a gigantic castle like thing. The inner place was secluded from all sides, whenever to keep the distance between the Aido house or the Council chambers, she could not tell. It looked that way. She noticed at once the four, business like looking man that trailed Hanabusa and her to the council building. "Who are they?" she whispered to him. Hanabusa looked behind him as if he noticed them for the first time. "Eh? They?" His thumb pointed at the one to his right. "They are bodyguards. Forget that they are here. They belong to my family, does they intimidate you?"

Yori nodded a little shyly. "Yes, they surprised me a little." He gave a barking laugh. "Oh Yori! They are only here to make certain that we are not disturbed. Trust me, they will never ever lay a hand on you." With the last words he turned his head into the direction of the nearest to them two and looked at him strangely. She couldn't tell what Hanabusa did but suddenly all four kneeled before the Noble with one arm in front of their chests and bowed heads.

She was startled from this show of respect that Hanabusa took without to even flinch. Yori wasn't used to such demure behavior. Hanabusa seemed unaffected by it. He was probably used to this since his childhood she mused. When he looked back at her she gave a shy nod and followed him further across the place.

Inside the new building run a lot people around. Most of them seem to just rush to certain directions. Wearing just normal every day clothes and fashions. To her they looked normal. Between them moved some people around with graze that belied their status from the start. Most of them wearied the newest fashions and expensive jewelry. Like Hanabusa too they gave a strange aura away that practically screamed, Noble! Most had bodyguards with them too, but only two of them had so many as Hanabusa and Yori.

Right when the door swung closed behind Yori, the entire busy moving of the people stopped up rapidly to a full end. Even the talking died down! Wide eyed she looked astonished at the, her watching crowd. Yori was just about to ask Hanabusa what the hell was going on when he suddenly emitted a snarling sound out of the sudden. She really jumped at the sudden, lethal sound! Not used to it and surprised that he would make such a sound.

When Hanabusa spoke, Sayori felt a little afraid of him for the first time in a while. She didn't understand what he was talking right away, Hanabusa used English to address the crowed. Most likely because these people, no vampires came from all places all over the world here to solve their causes. He told them cut short to stop to stare at…her? That he didn't like it that they made her nervous? Now Yori felt confused.

Abruptly all the odd reactions fell in place inside of her head. Of course! They stared at her because she was one of the made Noble…Yori had suddenly the strong urge to hold on something and grasped Hanabusa's hand. Without to even turn around to her he simply squeezed it and then begun to lead her to a side hall entrance that was guarded from a few guards in black suits.

A longer line of people stood before the checkpoint there. Strangely enough, the guards made not even a move to stop Hanabusa or Yori! They simply opened the door and let them pass with a bow. Yori could only shake her head at all of this. Behind the closed door was a sudden silence. Here only a few persons stood around. It gave more guards here too. On nearly every turn stood at least one. /I wish I would have staid at my room!/ Yori thought.

She didn't notice it that she clunk a little on Hanabusa now. But he did. A worried expression flickered shortly in his eyes and over his face. "Yori, calm down. I am sorry, I should have warned you. It was clear that this would happen, they already know that you all exist and that you live with my family for now. The others didn't mean any harm, I promise. They where just damn curios!" He gave her a worried look, that Yori fast tried to ignore. "I am fine, Hanabusa kun, just a little surprised that's all." She tried to smooth it over and even tried to let go of his hand.

But he didn't let her, instead he gave Yori a sudden hug. "I am sorry." He murmured in her hair. She couldn't help it, Yori hugged him back. She knew it wasn't Hanabusa's fool, it was just as it was. After a few seconds, a coughing sound behind Yori made both of them jump apart with slight blushes on their faces. Behind her stood a tall and regal looking man, clothed into a perfect suit and smirked at the couple. He could be 30 or 300 it was hard to tell that with a vampire but this one looked outwardly like a 30 years old man. A very beautiful and charming man.

Hanabusa didn't like him from the start! He even dared top glare a little at the newcomer what made the other raise a brow in question at his look. An amused smile on his lips the newcomer introduced himself as a messenger of the elders in the room ahead of Yori and Hanabusa. He was sent to ask them to come there for a minute. Hanabusa wished his father had come too! What did they want from Yori now? He barely stopped himself from snarling at the servant of the council he now identified as Yagamaro san. Yori, who somehow sensed the tension between Hanabusa and the stranger, begun to fathom what her new life did all implied. She didn't like it one bit!

Gazing at her friend to confirm that it was ok, she gave a cautious nod and both followed Yagamaro to the doors of the council chambers.

While moving, their bodyguards suddenly moved casually around Hanabusa and Yori, their guide noticed this with another arched brow but said nothing. One of them stood back and used a handy. At this, Yagamaro openly looked at the guard who shrugged unperturbed at him and went on to tell his lord the news. He heaved a sigh. "We didn't mean to cause a confrontation with your respected Lord father, Aido san." He told the scowling Hanabusa to his left.

Said Noble said nothing at that, he just crossed his arms and nodded sharply. It was clear that Hanabusa wasn't amused at all. Yagamaro shook his head at that and lead them to the room behind the doors. "If not, why then doing this?" Yori stopped them all with that question. The dark eyes of the guide trailed over to her with a surprised look. "My masters simply wanted to meet you and to ask you a few things, Wakaba sama. They didn't want to cause a riot about this. Aido sama would have been informed of this immediately too." He tried to smooth his surprise over with a charming smile when he addressed Yori…it did not work.

Yori still stood in the entrance of the doorway and moved not an inch.

She wore an almost bored expression, Hanabusa never before had seen on her face. It surprised and confused him just as it did Yagamaro too. He didn't know that Yori's parents owned an old shrine. He didn't know that she had always been trained in special behavior toward others, since she originally was intended to take over her mothers role as a shrine maiden one day.

Hanabusa knew nothing of this.

Her parents maybe were not rich, but Sayori's family came from out of an old chief priest clan. They had taught her to take responsibility for her family face in public in her youth. Yori stood straight without to look stiff, nothing gave the impression away that she would do anything that she didn't wanted to do without to intimidate. Hands clasped in front of her, over her notebook frame. Her head high.

Yori gave the perfect picture of a lady away.

But what made Hanabusa snicker in silence was the unruffled and chilly look of indifference she gave the now alarmed looking Yagamaro. The poor guide looked now a little troubled and Hanabusa could tell, a little frantic too. Before the man could say something Yori spoke to him again.

"How bizarre," Yori's head tilted a little to the side as if in deep thought. " Hanabusa kun told me that the council already gave us permission to go to the library…has that suddenly changed?" If Hanabusa could have done as he wished it right now, he would have laughed in his mirth! Next to him the vampire seems to sense this because Yagamaro san stiffened a great deal.

"No, of course not, Wakaba san. The elders just wanted to talk with you." His voice was the same pleasant tune as before but Hanabusa could tell, Yagamaro was uneasy now. Yori nodded and looked shortly down. When she spoke again she put a finger to her chin as if she was seriously thinking about something. She looked directly at Hanabusa. "Hanabusa kun?"

He decided to play the game.

"Yes?" giving the picture of pure innocence he looked curiously at Yori. Oh he so loved this already! Beside him Yagamaro san stiffened even more.

"Uhm…I cannot clearly remember, did your father, Lord Aido sama mention something like this?" Her big dark eyes were all innocent curiosity now. Inwardly Hanabusa did already roar in laugher. He folded his arms in front of his chest and walked a little up and down the hallway. Looking down all the time to hide his laughing eyes from Yagamaro, who, now gave a clearly annoyed aura off…he could hear him grind his teeth in his frustration.

"No." He answered Yori with a shake of his head. "Not that I can remember it. He told me to go in a straight line to the books and then without delay back. Nowhere else. Yet that you mention it…" He gave the now scowling Yagamaro a clearly false worried look. " I fear we cannot follow the councils wish this time, my lord. My father made clear rules for Yori chan and me to come here, and Kuran san did it too."

He gave the dog of the council a beaming smile.

Behind him Hanabusa could hear their guards cough into their hands to hide their laughs. Others were not so polite, further away from him and Sayori, bystanders did openly chortle behind mouth covering hands or they had simply turned around to be not caught smiling.

Yagamaro gave first the Aido heir and then Yori a clearly exasperated look, then his face was back behind his pleasant mask. He knew when he had lost. Anyway, it wasn't his fault. Nobody told him that these two played dirty together so nicely! He had to give the two, they did manage to make a fool out of him with grace. Inwardly Yagamaro had to grin himself…that sneaky little…!

He heaved an equally false, heavy sigh. "Well then, there goes nothing then…I will tell my masters to ask your Lord father first, Aido san." He gave a bow in the direction of Yori and Hanabusa and watched the two bow back and then the cursed little devil heir of the three times damned sneaky old dog Aido, take Sayori Wakaba san's hand with a cutely bow. To lead her into the other direction, the library room.

Giving a lopsided smirk Yagamaro closed the doors behind him again. Just in time, because a second later he was greeted with the roaring laugher of 4 elders in the room.

On the other hand, he missed the entrance of Hanabusa's father this way. Who just entered the council halls when Yagamaro closed the door, called here from his guard. Said guard had doubled over in laugher in the meanwhile. His lord gave him an astonished glance and said only one word.

"Explain!"

Two minutes later, Hanabusa heard the roaring laugh of his father fill the hallway behind them out. Around him and Yori their reminding guards also muffled their laughs. Along the many people in the library halls. They just managed it better to hide them then the most of the others. Yori tried her hardest not to blush and to laugh too, she couldn't believe it that she had done that!

But that guy had really riled her up with slick behavior and superior attitude towards Hanabusa and her. As if she would fall for something so openly set up like that! Beside her Hanabusa grinned from ear to ear. Whistling a happy tune she didn't knew and felt seemingly in high spirits, Yori could tell.

She puffed his arm a little to snap him out of it again and then pointed her thumb at the masses of books. "Help me to find the history section please, we have not all time of the world, you know? Mister, I am the currently very self-satisfied Hanabusa." She told him with a laugh in her voice. That did it. For the next ten minutes he and the guards burst out laughing.

Shaking her head at the quartet of silly acting males, Yori watched his father step closer and snigger at the picture. He gave Yori a sharp toothed grin then patted the surprised young woman on her head before he cuffed his ridiculous acting son shortly over the head. After that he told the reminding guard something in the ear and then left them again.

Yori could only raise a brow at that…did that vampire Noble lord just act like a normal human father or did she imagine things here? Seeing that Hanabusa was nowhere near to be helpful right now, she walked over to the reception table of the book hall and asked the female vampire there for directions to certain parts of this big hall.

She had to do some research!

End of chapter.

I think that two make a good team…don't you think so too? Laughs here, I hope the joke came over the right way. Until next time, Suryallee.


	12. Shocking discoveries, a confession of th

Inner Strength

_**Inner Strength**_

_**Disclaimer; **_I do not own Vampire Knights or the charas of the manga and anime. I do own how ever, Kennard and Chiiro, Shinda is a chara of the original manga, she is the girl with the glasses who likes Zero so much…if someone doesn't know that.

_**Part **__Twelve_

_**Rating; **__T – M , for later chapters_

_**Warnings, **__blood, violence, bad speech, cussing, lots of! OCC, OOC at some parts of the story but mostly I will try to hold them in character. _

_**Disclaimer**__; I don't own vampire Knights or the lovely character I just own a bird and a two room flat;_

_**Important note, please don't skip it! **__I am native German. __There for I make still errors with the language, so please if you want to help me, let me know. I know that my English is actually good but still I make errors, bear with me please and don't kill my imagination because of this, ok? Flames will be laugh at! PS, I need a beta I fear, but please, only serious people. _

_Thank you, and have fun with my little project. _

_**Italics; /…/ **__thoughts_

_**AAAA **__emphasis of something._

**Suryallee**

**Shocking discoveries, a confession of the other kind and more shocking discoveries in the end. **

"Oh my god!" Yori closed the book in front of her slowly. Rubbing her face with one hand she reflected on what she did just read a second before. Now many things finally made sense to the girl. To judge from what she found out the last hours and putting it together in her crafty mind to one picture, Yori finally understood much better what was going on.

Hanabusa watched her silently. He had stopped to try to read over her shoulder a while back. Yori didn't like that. But even so, his own genius told him volumes about the things he did read himself. Around the two, many vampires read over things assigned from Yori to them. They had volunteered. Some were older some younger, attracted from the hard working couple in the book hall and having heard abut Yori's reputation to have solved the most out alone already.

Now, the daybreak was near.

Hanabusa knew that Yori found something in that thick old dusty tome…the question was, what? She gave him a tired smile and then put it back into its shelf. Then she collected the notes of the others and thanked them nicely. Tiredly she asked him to go back to her room. He didn't argued against it. Back there she dropped the notes all on the table and fell into her bed. Now he began to worry.

What had she found to make her that depressed and worrying about it?!

With one arm over her eyes, she waved him over with the other. "Please close the door for me?" He did as asked. Then Hanabusa walked back over to her bed and sat down on the edge. "What's worrying you that much, Yori?" for seconds, he got only breathing as an answer then she suddenly begun to tell him a story.

"Once, when the earth was young, there was a creature that later diverted in evolution into two different paths. One grew and became the Homo Sapiens, Sapiens in the end. The other evolved into the, you could say, the Homo Sapiens Vampire? It's hard to explain but I think the current events resulted out of this little fact. We had the same ancestor in the beginning but it worked out in different species in the end of the evolution line." She sat up and leaned next to Hanabusa at the headboard. There she stared at her hands, not really seeing them she simply talked on.

"The first of your kin that came out of this evolution line were the Pure Bloods, the first humans that existed, did later evolve again. One line is the main branch of humanity, the other ate Vampires to regain what they lost in the splitting and grew into the hunter human species we know. The hunters of the vampires were born.

But it ended not there…" She fell silent.

Hanabusa had also made some assumptions already on his own. What Yori told him made sense, but how was the change of the others and her to explain then, and why could vampires turn humans into vampires then? Suddenly a lot of questions he had never asked after begun to swirl around in his head.

"As I said, the first were pure bloods. Maybe your history isn't wrong and there once was one single ancestor that builds the stock for the rest of your kin but I think I will stick to another theory. Evolution just makes more sense this time. I think, its simple. Hanabusa, did you ever read about evolution theories?" He nodded slowly, he had done that. "Then you should know that the first humanoid ancestors of the human kind have lived in small hunting groups. They hunted and collected. But in the beginning, they did not grow things to eat and did not cultivate animals for consumption.

Some researchers even think the were cannibals under their own kin. As long the **game** didn't belong to the own clan or wasn't a female they could use for their own tribe. There are many points for that theory." He nodded again this time eagerly. He slowly got what she tried to explain here. "You think, the first vampires and human ancestors came from the same branch of beings, don't you?" Yori nodded.

"Then, suddenly out of the blue, the human part begun to grow things to eat and tamed animals for own purposes. The other evolution branch still hunted animals and the new human branch. They never stopped with that, Hanabusa. I think these branch members were the ancestors of the vampires. That's why only human blood is giving your kin so much power and not animal blood."

The young vampire lord watched her look down on her hands again. Something was off with Yori. "What goes through your mind, Yori chan? There is something that seems to greatly disturbing you." His hand took one of hers in his own and begun to rub it unconsciously. For awhile, none spoke.

"One day, one or better said a part of the main branch of vampire ancestors must have evolved again. The first of the Pure Blood vampires were born that days. In reality, this must have taken thousands of years of evolution but the end is the same. They still were looking like humans, and acting like them but they weren't humans at all anymore. Coming from cannibalistic ancestors, they had begun to consume blood instead of flesh and vegetables. Their biology begun to develop a better way to consume blood as food. These beings were the first, their descendants are the vampires of today.

Their bites evolved a contagious quality that could turn other humans, the descendants of the split branch, into someone like themselves. Not completely, like them but very near to that. The genetic of them was strong enough to change that of a normal human." She took a sip of water from a glass on the nearby table. Hanabusa was fascinated. The way Yori told it, it made sense.

"The first level D class vampires came to live. From them, intermingled a few with the originally branch of vampire ancestors and did build the so called Nobles in the end. The lines of them are always related back to the pure blood ancestor, not the vampire or turned vampire that was joining with them. Naturally, the Nobles were not so strong as the originated branch members, so the originals became the natural leaders of the others as well. Like Kaname Senpai for example is it to you."

She began to worry her upper lip with her teeth. Hanabusa mused that her problem began exactly from here.

"Now, we come to the real strange item in this all. The ones like me, and the others. I think, it was different in the beginning. The first turned vampires that mingled with the old branch, were different from the ones of later. Why? Simple, have you read what I told you? About the bloodlines histories?" "Yes, and it first made no sense to me. But I think I get now what you mean. The later mingling with the Pure bloods got rarely so strong lines in the end as the older lines. Its that what you're aiming at, don't you?" Yori nodded.

"The older lines, like yours for example or that of the Souen, the Shiki and so on have much stronger powers and health as the newer ones. Only a few lines in your history are as strong in their power, health and all as the oldest ones! That's because the oldest and these few others have one thing in common; they are descendants of to Nobles turned vampires that did intermingle with Nobles or Pure Bloods, like me."

It hit Hanabusa suddenly why the council did want the others and Yori this much! Of course, if you saw this little fact then it made a perfect sense.

"Somehow, on the way, the pure blood lines stopped to create vampires like me. But I think its something other…" She looked down into her glass. " Its not that they lost the ability, its more that they had other reasons. They already had reached a number to live without new intermingling with new made vampires. Their numbers were stable and they got enough children to live without outer help. But that changed with time. Wars, nature catastrophes and such killed once a while a good number of their kindred. They had to find a solution for this problem since vampires breed not as often like humans do.

Time took its toll and soon they found out the same as we, the new lines aren't strong enough to over live a longer period from all alone. Maria san is a good example for this. Her bloodline is thinned out and she grew sick from that. Understood?" Hanabusa looked at her. "Yes! Fully, its quite simple if you think like that. Then, following your theory, the old lines lost their talent to create new vampires like you on the way, am I right?"

"Exactly! It was no longer needed from Mother Nature but somehow, it sometimes gives throwbacks. The ability did not fully die out, its more that it changed in its happening. In a way you could say, they now need a certain amount of levels and points to make it happen. And here, the factor age is a muss! They get it by birth but have to reach a certain amount of power with the years to make it happen. It happened only because Rido san is older as the most."

He looked curiously at Yori. If that was the case then there was something else that was needed and she didn't want to tell him that. Hanabusa could feel it, Yori debated with herself if she should or not tell him what she found out. "Yori? What is the real factor?" Hanabusa looked her straight in the eyes when he asked it. He left her no escape now, not when his people had a chance to get their numbers higher again and she did know how! To many had problems with illnesses resulting of thinned out blood lines. Maria wasn't alone with her problem. And the hunters grew stronger and stronger each day! Getting more and more children to replace the lost and grew steadily in their numbers!

Even he didn't like it, but her knowledge was too important to let her stay silent!

Yori gave a deep sigh then she closed her eyes. "Its not the factor age alone, Hanabusa, its much more. Luck is a factor no one can force, also, the thing with the masses that were turned made me think. In the end there is only one result that makes any sense at all; the main factor for turning out like me, is the human itself that was changed" He gasped, now that she said it, the bloodlines history came back into his mind focus. All the names…well mostly, only the turned hunter families when taken in by a vampire line had brought out vampires like Yori or Zero! He and his brother, both changed into this kind after Rido turned them this way. Luck, definitely luck in their case! But also the fact that they had been Kiriyuu members in the first place.

Shizuka sama had been old, but not as old as Rido!

Not over 500 years and so, her age hadn't been enough to turn Zero into this kind of a vampire Noble. Rido, in the difference was older even, as old as Kuran's parents had been. So, when he did turn them again, or in Zeros case Rido tried to further his downward progress, he accidentally did the exact opposite and ended Shizuka's turning of Zero to a Noble. Hanabusa couldn't believe the luck of that Hunter brat!!

So, hunter families, with their changed genetic from eating a vampire to gain their powers for hunting vampires had also brought them the necessary ability to be changed into Yori's kind of a Noble vampire. If caught and turned this way from an older pure blood. How many of them lived now anyways? Hanabusa knew not of many as old or older as Rido Kuran. In fact, only a handful he could come up with by name.

He suddenly smelled tears.

"What…! Oh no! Don't cry, Yori!" he knew she most likely though now that she just condemned the hunters to this. It didn't sit well with Hanabusa. "Yori, we would have found out in a while anyways! And besides, maybe the most names came from hunter families but they were always the same families. Like the Kiriyuu. Not all are that compatible, am I right?" He tried to console her. Meanwhile he wiped softly the tears away from her gorgeous now more and more amber looking eyes. Finally giving into his desire to hold her, Hanabusa practically pulled Yori into his lap and hugged her securely. He hated it when she cried! He really did.

Resting in his embrace Yori murmured something before she stopped to struggle against Hanabusa's greater strength and let him embrace her. Giving into his silent wishes for a while now, he snuggled his face into her soft hair and inhaled deeply. The last days and nights had been heaven and hell for Hanabusa. He had longed so badly to hold her like this. Wanted nothing else, as to cling to Yori like he did it now. His father knew it, Hanabusa suspected and most likely Kaname san too. It didn't matter to Hanabusa though, all he wanted was to have Yori all the time to himself alone.

Since the accident he realized it slowly that he actually never wanted Yori to go away from him. the realization had stunned him really but he didn't care! If she was what his instincts told him to be a perfect match for him he would be damned if he did let her slip away from him again! And there would be many who would try to do that in the next weeks…starting with the cursed ball tomorrow night. His father told him about before.

Hanabusa knew, if he didn't make a move now, someone else could get her away from his grasp and that was something he would let not happen! She smelled like honey. Her scent was soothing to him, the feeling of her body in his arms, wonderful and so right. His eyes turned red without Yori's knowing. Hanabusa would fight off everyone else who dared to make a move on her tomorrow!

"Hanabusa? Your grip is hurting Me." Startled, the vampire removed the force from his hold on Yori. "Sorry! I didn't mean…" She cut him off. "It's alright, I understand. Sometimes you can't control yourself, I saw that happen before. It's not that I don't like to be hold from you. I am not mad, it's just…" Yori trailed off into silence. Not sure what to tell. To be honest, she liked his possessive side a great deal. It gave Yori a secure feeling and he smelled really good when so near to her. Hanabusa always smelled like winter, her favorite time of the year. Like snow and ice, Sayori inhaled deeply without to realize it. She felt him move around a little until she sat exactly between his long legs. Shifting his hold so it wasn't suffocating her anymore, Hanabusa snuggled his face back into her curls. "Just what, Yori? What did you wanted to say?" His voice had that tone again that made her shiver.

Yori had liked the hyper active vampire a longer time. But never made a move to show anything to Hanabusa because she knew he just fooled around with his fan girls. And Yori never wanted to be classified with those girls! Since her turning, Yori felt more and more often the need to see the Noble. She liked it when he dragged her around with him, Hanabusa could be so endlessly funny sometimes. Yori had caught some of his longing looks at her, when Hanabusa thought she didn't watch him. it was the same for her but she did not want to end up as one of his playthings!

The girl opted for her best treat, she would clear this strange situation today! And ask him directly what the hell he exactly wanted from her. This hold on her told an observant person as Yori was it, volumes about Hanabusa's attachment to her but she needed to hear him tell her that! If he really wanted something more from Sayori, he was in for a surprise, that much was certain. Because

Yori did not share!

Getting herself together before she could blush tomato red, Yori did hide her face in his chest. Here the smell was even stronger. "I think…I like you, Hanabusa, but…you're always so full of yourself when you are with the fan girls of you." She murmured almost not hearable. Hanabusa heard it none the less and blushed slightly. "Sometimes I don't understand you… you tease the others so often, so how can I be sure you really mean it this time?" She looked up into the wide eyes of the vampire. His checks held a soft hue of red now. And was that Hanabusa's heart that beat so loudly? She wasn't sure, maybe it was hers all the time. "You always try to hold me, on my hand, or embrace me like this…I know what that means normally but you never say something. So what would you think in my place? I don't like to hang in the air. I never did and I am direct, I know. But you give me mixed signals…" This time Yori did blush…madly!

She fast looked down and tried to hide it. She had gone to far, Yori just knew it.

Above her, Hanabusa's blood rushed in his ears. He was certain he was red-faced now but he didn't care a shit! His mouth turned up into a silly grin from all alone that he could not stop, darn it! Suddenly the meaning of her words sunk in fully and Hanabusa did something he rarely did, he slapped himself. He and his darn teasing of his fan girls! Yori's head snapped up and she gave Hanabusa a confused look. He ignored it for the time being to call himself an idiot inwardly. Kain so often had warned him that it would backfire one day. He groaned loudly.

The effect his groan had on Yori made Hanabusa fast react. She pulled away from him! Not going to happen, was all he thought before Hanabusa caught her petite form again and snuggled her back against him even more as before. Molding Yori to him would have fitted it better. His beery red face he hid in her hair. "I am sorry, Yori! I am sooo deeply sorry! I can be such a stupid sometimes…Kain always told me that I should quit it but I never did listen. Forgive me please, of course you would think twice as to believe it that I mean it this time…I am such a moron!"

Sayori stopped to struggle…had he just called himself a dim-wit?

A soft kiss planted in her hair made Yori blush even harder. So, she wasn't wrong with her musings all the time? Hanabusa really did like her? "I didn't say something because I didn't want to scare you away from me! It wasn't my best performance ever to barge into your room that night. I thought you was afraid of me so I staid silent. But I couldn't help it, I had to touch you somehow. To be honest, I wanted all the time nothing other as to hold you like this!" He could feel her shudder slightly in his arms. Then unexpectedly her arms came up from their resting place in her lap to slowly clutch at his shirt.

He gave another peek on her head. "Don't think I will let you go from me again now, Yori! Not when I finally know that you like me back. Not going to happen here!" He told her in a strange new voice. His finger tilted her face up until her eyes meet his. The look in them scared Yori a little. So much possessiveness and desire, she shivered again, but not from fear this time, more from a sudden bold of pleasure that shoot through her body. Before she could give an answer or say anything to Hanabusa his head tilted down and his lips planted themselves firmly onto Yori's. She was too surprised to react for seconds…and here she thought that she was bold!

A light nip of too sharp teeth to be a humans on her bottom lip and Yori couldn't help to gasp a little. What happened next took her breath literally away from her. His tongue entered her mouth so fast Yori couldn't stop him even if she wanted to. And then he practically ravished her mouth with it. As suddenly it had begun, it stopped again. One final peek on her lips and Hanabusa leaned back a little to rub his nose at hers. His eyes held a glow that seemed to come from deep inside. They practically sparkled. Yori found she couldn't look into them much longer without to blush even more. Her entire body felt like he had set her on fire. And she found herself breathless.

Hanabusa's breath came in short pants too.

"Does that answer your question? If not, let me clarify it for you. I do not like you, Yori, I think I am in love with you!" Hanabusa watched her eyes widen at that confession. He loved the look she had now, so open, unguarded and beautifully showing her inner soul without to realize it. Almost innocent and childlike. Suddenly they hardened into small slits. The impression the two pools of molten dark gold held send pleasurable shivers of a different kind of fear down Hanabusa's spine. He felt the urge to gulp out of the sudden.

"You better mean that, Mister Idol Senpai! Because I Do Not Share!" Sayori told him in a stern voice that made it even harder for the vampire to keep himself from simply ravishing the girl in his arms. He chuckled softly, darkly, a mysterious sound that made Yori shiver again. What was that with Hanabusa's voice to make her feel like this? His eyes closed for a second then opened again to fix her with his gaze. One hand came up to trace her features softly before a finger trailed over her now slightly swollen lips from the kiss just before. His ice blue eyes fixed for a second on them then he looked back into her eyes. "That's good to know, because I will rip apart everyone who dares to try take you from me now." His voice was eerily calm and cold all together. Yori suddenly feared for the poor soul that Hanabusa ever saw as a treat! "I mean it, Yori. I do not like to share either!" He kissed her again. This time almost demanding. The kiss left Yori almost out of breath and her brain in mush.

Hanabusa's face buried softly in the nape of her neck, without to let her feel threatened at all. He just rested his head there. "And don't worry about those silly fan girls any longer. They are past. Not even worth to mention to any further extent, trust me, I only fooled around with them. From now on, they don't count a bit any longer. Not since I finally have what I wanted for so long." Yori couldn't believe her ears. For so long? How long exactly had Hanabusa wanted her then?

His soft voice, slightly dulled from his position on her neck gave her the answer before she could ask him. "Do you have the slightest idea how worried I was when you suddenly went missing? I don't think you do. I was ready to tear that darn hunters into pieces!" He gave a sigh and removed his head from her neck again. To look into her face instead. "I nearly went insane! We all knew you had to be under the ones Rido got and they withheld information from us! I searched everywhere and could not find you or the others, I…I was so relieved when I couldn't find you under the poor souls that didn't make it. Takuma and I searched through the entire cellar, only that room was forbidden to us. We knew someone was behind that door but Yagari stopped us from opening it. Now I think it was good that he did that, because of the other hunters."

He looked at Yori with pain in his eyes.

"You luckily didn't see what they did to the others before they killed them! Trust me, you don't want to know. And they searched for someone too. Now I know they searched for you and the others. Yagari must have smuggled you all out without them knowing. Luckily he did!" Hanabusa closed his eyes again and Yori suddenly felt the urge to hold him now. What she did right away then, her arms got him into a soft hug. Guiding his head until it lay again on her shoulder she let Hanabusa rest his head there. Yori felt him tremble slightly. Running her fingers through his unruly hair she tried to soothe him down a little. After a while she felt him relax more and more. When his breathing did even out Yori found herself back with an armful of sleeping vampire.

For a while Yori did nothing else as to watch the blond. Who finally snuggled down until he found a new resting place for his head in her lap. She still petted him slightly. It seemed to relax Hanabusa a great deal. His hair felt so soft under her fingers. Yori liked the feeling much. And his eyelashes were so long, nearly like a girls. Many girls would kill to have such eyelashes, she thought. When a soft knock came from her door she jumped a little. It woke up Hanabusa in a moment only. Groggily looking around for a second he finally fixed his eyes on Yori's to break out in a huge grin. Along a following soft blush. She found him simply adorable in that moment!

A second knock was heard. Hanabusa called th person to enter and at the same time composed himself a little. Rubbing his eyes he watched his father enter the room with a raised eyebrow at their position on the bed. A raised eyebrow, that begun dangerously to twitch with each parting second he looked at his heir! But before his father could launch into a lecture about manners, Hanabusa wildly waved his hands in front of him and then caught the surprised Yori in a sudden bear hug. "Before you even start, father! She agreed to be my girlfriend!" He sputtered out to his seemingly madder at minute becoming father in the door entrance of Yori's room. Yori felt herself get a nice shade of tomato red for the xth time tonight when Hanabusa's fathers mad look changed position from Hanabusa to Yori in an instant. Behind the now slightly irritated Lord Aido, someone cleared his throat to get his attention away from the now madly blushing couple on the bed.

Promptly, when the Lord averted his gaze from them, both culprits took in the held breath like one. Yori found, Hanabusa's father could look as angry as her own father could look when he caught her doing something forbidden! How creepy! Maybe the Lord hated her now? She did hide her face behind her bangs. Within only a second Hanabusa had her cradled into a secure hug and he glared at his father. "See what you did!" He told the now flustered vampire Lord and Kaname behind the man. "Now she thinks you hate her!" He accused quite accurately. Both vampires in question begun at once to console Yori that that impression was a mistake. While Kaname closed the door behind him, Hanabusa's father stepped near the two on the bed.

"I am sorry, young lady, I didn't mean it that way. But sometimes my son can be too clingy for his own good!" He gave Hanabusa a glare of his own. "In fact I am quite happy for you two and I am sure Kuran sama is too, it was just that I thought Hanabusa went over board again." He rubbed his face wearily. Meanwhile Yori stopped to hide in Hanabusa's arms…much to his frustration. How ever she didn't remove her hand from his nor did she move away from Hanabusa…that soothed the young vampire a little. But not enough, he wanted her back in his embrace! Could his father not choose a better time to come here?!

Kaname chuckled at the frustrated pout of the younger Aido. The two were quite a sight. Blushing like that.

"We came here to tell you Yori, that tomorrow is a ball in the Shirabucki estate. We have no choice, the council wishes for you all to attend it to properly introduce you to the other Nobles and Pure Bloods there. They leaved us no choice as to agree to this, I am sorry, Yori san. I personally think it's much to early to throw you into these matters but they did not agree." Hanabusa and Yori listened to Lord Aido's speaking. Then the Sayori looked at the uncomfortable lord with a smile. "I understand fully, sir but I fear I have nothing to wear to such a ball. All my clothes are in the school." She told him. the man just smiled at her. "Don't worry about that matter, my servants will take care of that. Trust me please," He went on, " we will make sure that nobody will harm you or else. And since my son seemed to have asked you this, I trust that you will make **Sure**, Hanabusa, that nobody will harass Sayori san! Did I got my mind across?"

His son in question gulped visibly before he nodded. "Yes father, fully! I will not let someone come near to her without to check them first. Don't worry, its in my own best interest too." He told his father in a solemn voice.

"Then it's settled," Kaname told them all, "We all will go there tomorrow. Oh and Hanabusa?" Hanabusa gulped again. He knew that kind of look the Kuran currently sported in his red gaze. It meant trouble! "Ye…yes, Kuran sama?" The red eyes fixed on Hanabusa's. "I trust it that you will behave yourself from now on." Hanabusa knew what Kaname meant the instant the words left his mouth. His gaze was serious when he answered his lord. "I understand completely, Kuran sama. I would never dare to do such a thing to Yori! I really treasure her, she isn't my plaything! I want her to become more as my girlfriend if possible!"

The last words left his father and Kaname with a stunned expression on their features.

It was the Aido Lord who got himself back in check the first. " Then, young lady I can only wish you good luck! Because I know my son too well. I wonder how you can put up with his sometimes hyper active way of living out his personality." He shook his head in bewilderment. But Yori just smiled at him instead to feel offended. "Oh don't worry, I think I will find a way to calm him down then." She told the lord cheekily with a grin. Hanabusa watched the exchange between his father and Yori with wide eyes. "Hey! I am not that bad!" He blurted out. "Father!!" The last came out in a rather loud whine. It made the inhabitants in the room laugh.

Later, after she finally got into her bed alone to sleep, means after Hanabusa's father had gotten a hold on his sons long arm sleeves to drag him out with him, she reflected on this weird and wonderful night. Yori didn't regret her decision to ask Hanabusa out. Not a little bit. She was happy with the way the it was now. She only asked herself silently if she could bring herself to it to tell Hanabusa the rest of her findings in the library! As good it maybe turned out now for her, could she really let it happen that others had to share her fate in the future?

It wasn't it only that it lay all in the vampires hands. To change a human into a noble while turning him or her, needed more then only an older pure blood biting that person. Some factors lay in the hands of the human in question too! Yori reflected on what she knew again in silence.

1; the vampire must be pure blood.

2 ; the vampire must be older as 500 years.

3 ; there was the factor luck, still it was part of the game.

But it could only happen to turn out like this when the human part filled out the following criteria's too.

1 ; he or she had not to be older as 50 years, better younger from what she did read in the history books of the older happenings of these events.

2 ; the persons to change had to have a strong will to live! It was part of the package. All of them had wanted to live. Even Shinda chan. They had unknowingly agreed to let this happen in order to live…the others down there hadn't or had not the rest of the required criteria's to begin with.

3 ; the human they wanted to turn had to be genetically compatible to the following change. And this was the trickiest part in the game! Hunters weren't the answer to everything, they had just more people with this needed fact under their families.

You could not simply go and change everyone! The human had to have the right genetic criteria to make it happen in the end. All of them shared one single condition with each other that the vampires didn't know of yet, it was so simple that nobody ever came up with before. And so, missed the fact completely!

Yori had stumbled over it by accident herself.

Many had written over such events in the past, but only a few of them had been the altered humans themselves. And no one ever had taken notice into it because of that before. In one of these rare descriptions she read it for the first time. A man had written about his childhood as a human. He told them about his health in the past.

That man had a slight anemia all of his life. It vanished, of course after his turning into a Noble vampire.

Another one, a woman this time had mentioned it only in a rush of descriptions. She too had been anemic before. And the final clue that this was important was from one of the earliest descriptions of such events itself in the history of the vampires. It was from a Pure Blood Lord of the ancient times. They even called them the **Ancients**. The oldest of them all, the oldest founders of the oldest known Pure Blood bloodlines. Sayori nearly missed it! One of the co readers of her and Hanabusa had found it in an old tome. And then showed it to her. She first had not wanted to read it, deeming it not important but after she found the first description she searched it out anew and read it from beginning to end.

It was a written down conversation between one of the last known alive Ancients until today and one that was long death. About the changing of humans in general. For what purpose and how and why and so on. In the middle of it she found them shortly debating about the curios fact that all that ever completed a full change to a noble before had been in human lives were very pale, or did bleed easily, or were often fast tired out, had by bodily activities fast a too fast breathing or collapsed easily from loss of air…all signs of one thing; Anemia.

It was the missing piece.

It marked a genetic criteria that all made Nobles had in common without one ever realizing it before. All put it off as a strange incidence only, instead to think about it or to notice it as such. Yori and the others, they had talked in the cellar. About many things. Shinda mentioned on the second night that she wondered about it that she had not fainted yet. The girl had always been known to be anemic in school before. She took pills for that illness.

Ichiru told them the same. It was something even Shizuka had failed to heal out of him. and so Yori was told that Zero was originally anemic too before Shizuka had bitten him and turned him into a D level vampire. Because both were twins and a kind of albino type at that.

Kennard had then told them that he also had a slight affliction to this. But he got it not as badly as Shinda and Ichiru did it, he only had to avoid to cut himself or to overdue it in PE. So he would not collapse from the lack of air, because his blood had not enough red cells to support enough oxygen for him then.

Chiiro told Yori later between their move to the room before the hunters killed the others that she too was slightly anemic because, Yori asked her if she was ok, because she always was so pale.

Yori had stored away all these facts without to think over them until she found this down written talk between the two ancients in the tome. Never even thinking about it too, like all the others. It only caught her eye in the end because Yori too had been anemic before. And so it caught her interest when she read the first description. She had instantly felt related to the man in the past. She was much like Kennard in this.

Now she knew how much they all had in common!

From Zero she was told, most of the vampire hunters had to fight with an odd always occurring anemia in their family lines since they had consumed a vampires flesh in the past to get their supernatural hunting powers into their family trees. That was why some of the older families, like the Kiriyuu had been always so compatible to this kind of change in the past.

It all made a sense if you thought it through. She only needed to proof her conclusion and that was something Yori did not want to do. She finally fell asleep after a long while of turning and tossing around.

While she was doing that, Hanabusa could not sleep.

He mulled deeply about their findings from today. He just knew that Yori still hid something from them! Hanabusa just couldn't figure out what exactly it was. He knew what she did tell him, but that wasn't all and he did not want her to stomach this alone! The vampire had a suspicion that Yori would rather die as to tell them and to condemn others to her fate with it. He cursed wildly and got out his bed again. Sitting on the edge whilst dressing once more; Hanabusa reflected again what time it was that he saw her pale rapidly for the first time. It was when she read this strange medical rapport of that man from long ago…he got his keys and stood again.

In the library was only the desk helper at this time of the day. But she soon got him the tomes and books once more. Reading over the medical rapport once again, Hanabusa followed Yori's former reading line and finally ended up with the down written text of that conversation like she did. Was he imagining things here or could it be that he was right? Didn't that Kiriyuu Ichiru mention it in the room before they leaved the old teachers building that it was strange that all of them had been anemic before?

Yes, Hanabusa thought, he sure did! When they had dragged Zero out he had told something like that. Worrying about Zeros condition and all. It suddenly clicked inside Hanabusa's brain. So, he thought, that was the missing key then. The genetic alteration they all had in common, the victim had to be anemic! Why, he could only muse and was sure Yori would know better with all her knowledge of these things but it was this and nothing else.

If you thought before you tried it out, on all of these requirements, then there was a very, very huge chance that it turned out like this!

Only Yori could have found it, Hanabusa was sure. He would have dismissed it like all others too before him if she would never have found it out. And then put the pieces together. He never would have found it without her help alone ever! With the tome under his arm, Hanabusa left the building fast and went straight to his fathers chambers to wake him up.

He would not let her burden herself with this any longer!

Hanabusa just hoped that Yori would not hate him later for fining it out with her help. That was the only thing he feared now. But the well being of his people were important too. They needed to bring fresh genetic into the old lines from time to time. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Already too many lines had troubles and this was a method that would help much!

This way it was for the best, Hanabusa mused. This way, she wouldn't feel responsible for it too much in the end.

End of chapter.

_**Please let me know if you liked it! Begs with puppy dog eyes, and I am glad you liked it, flaming ember!**_


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